To be Admired
by Mayorie
Summary: [arrgh! they messed up the format! edits have been made] Somebody other than Yuki and Kyou is interested in Tohru. What'll the Sohma boys do? [mainly Yuki and Kyou's antics in trying to keep another guy's paws off Tohru] I FINALLY UPDATED AFTER 4 YEARS!
1. chapter 1

A/N: I know there have been quite a lot of fics floating around with some guy other than yuki and kyou that's interested in Tohru, but I just couldn't resist writing one! I just love making Yuki and Kyou jealous! And competition should be good for them. *grins evilly*  
  
This is my first Furuba fic. Go easy on me ne?  
  
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He stared at her from his position at the back of the class. She was staring intently at the teacher, carefully taking down notes every now and then. Her chestnut hair held at the sides by a pair of dark blue ribbons. it distracted him to no end. Her slim fingers clutching her pen so delicately ensnared his vision. To Akamatsu Ryu, Honda Tohru was a delightful distraction. Being just slightly behind her, offering him an unimpeded view of her petite form was no help either. He didn't even attempt to listen to the teacher's ramblings, knowing how futile it was. 'She' just captured his attention. Holding his eyes glued to her against his will. Tohru-chan. he thought, slipping into daydream mode.  
  
"Akamatsu"  
  
".."  
  
"Akamatsu!"  
  
Somebody nudged him. But he was so engrossed with his thoughts that he didn't even notice it.  
  
"AKAMATSU!!!!!" the teacher's irritated voice finally broke through his daydream. "Eh? Hai sensei?" He said calmly. His teacher's anger didn't faze him one bit. Any trouble that he encountered with the school, his father just smoothed over. After all, being extremely wealthy had its perks.  
  
He stood up lazily, hands in his pockets. He gave his teacher a glance that clearly said 'Well? What is it?'. His teacher huffed a bit and then popped the question,  
  
"What caused the downfall of the Tokugawa Era?"  
  
*a pause* He gazed up at the ceiling, as if carefully considering the question, and then.  
  
"Shiranai (I don't know)" He said calmly.  
  
He could practically see smoke coming out of his teacher's ears. But after a few moments, he just sighed and waved a hand at Ryu, a motion for the student to sit down. This had happened a lot already. And the teacher knew that there was really nothing he could do about it. The kid's father seemed to have a hold on the principal, and sending him there in the hopes of getting the boy punished was just a waste of time and effort since there was little chances of that happening.  
  
Ryu just smirked and sat down. He saw the varied reactions of his classmates. There were some who looked displeased. And there were some who looked awed. Most of the people who fit into the latter category were girls. Some were already giggling and whispering to their friends. He caught wisps of their conversations.  
  
"He's so cool!"  
  
"And cute too!" a giggle again.  
  
He smiled at them briefly, loving the flustered looks they gave him. He glanced at to the right and saw the annoyed look the orange-haired boy gave him. Inwardly, he merely shrugged. Souma Kyou gave everybody that look. It wasn't merely directed at him. That guy was just too anti-social. He took a look at the guy's cousin, and saw no reaction at all from Souma Yuki. The gray haired student just looked straight ahead at the board, indifference clearly stamped on his features. Then he sneaked a peek at his angel. While the other girls in class were still whispering and giggling with admiration for him, Honda Tohru looked at him with a worried expression on her face. He was a bit startled. Usually, his 'rebel' attitude earned him blushing looks. This was the first time that he got a worried look directed at him. Guess she doesn't like rebellious guys, huh. Well, we'll see about that.  
  
After a few sharp words from the teacher, the class settled back to their quiet mood and lessons resumed. Ryu was left to his thoughts. Tohru-chan, why did you give me that look? He stared at her back. He didn't notice the glares that he was receiving from Yuki and Kyou. Hmmm.. Maybe I should ask you that over lunch. he brightened at that idea. yes, I'll ask her to have lunch with me today. And with that he resumed his "staring".  
  
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The bell rang, and the students got on their feet. Tohru was just about to catch up with Yuki and Kyou who were waiting outside when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Ryu looking at her calmly.  
  
"Akamatsu-san?" she asked, a questioning look on her face.  
  
"Ah, Honda-san, I was just wondering if you want to have lunch with me today." He said, with one hand in his pocket, exuding calm and confidence.  
  
Tohru's eyes widened in surprise. Akamatsu-san wants to have lunch with me?! "Ah. anou. Akamatsu-san, gomen ne. But I already promised Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun that I'll have lunch with them today." She stammered nervously, looking at her shoes. She stole a peek at him, hoping that he wasn't angry at her.  
  
"Ah. I see. Well, maybe some other time, ne Honda-san?" he said, smiling lazily at her. Tohru-chan looks so cute. He thought, still looking at the girl staring shyly at him.  
  
"Hai." He was standing awfully close to her, Tohru noticed. So she stepped back a little.  
  
"Honda-san?" a voice asked from the door. She glanced to her side and saw Yuki looking at her questioningly. Then Kyou's form appeared beside him, looking irritated, as usual. "Oi. What's keeping you?"  
  
"Ahh! Gomen Kyou-kun, Yuki-kun. I'll be right there." She turned back towards Ryu and bowed apologetically. "Gomen Akamatsu-san, but I have to go now." And with that, she hurried towards the door, waving at him. And all he could do was wave back.  
  
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"What did Akamatsu want with you Tohru?" Kyou asked. Tohru gave him a startled glance, and then looked nervously at her feet. "Eto. well. he asked me to have lunch with him." she said shyly.  
  
Since she was looking down, she didn't see the surprised faces of the two boys beside her.  
  
"But since I already promised to have lunch with Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun today, I of course declined." She continued.  
  
"Thank you. Honda-san is so nice to have thought of us. But are you sure that you didn't want to have lunch with Akamatsu-san instead?" Yuki said politely. But inside, he was surprised. so Akamatsu really is interested in Honda-san Yuki thought, reflecting on the stares that Akamatsu gave Tohru during class.  
  
Kyou was thinking something along the same lines as well. Damn that Akamatsu! What was he thinking inviting Tohru to lunch! Who does he think he is, staring at her all day!  
  
"Of course not! I'm always glad to be with Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun. I don't know Akamatsu-san all that well." Tohru assured them hurriedly. She didn't want to offend them. And of course, what she said was true. She didn't think Akamatsu-san was that bad, infact she thought him to be quite handsome, but she'd rather spend her time with her two friends.  
  
Yuki smiled at her and Kyou nodded and then looked sideways. And with that, the trio proceeded to go and have their lunch.  
  
To their side, they could hear the hisses that the Princess group was giving Tohru. But, as usual, they ignored it.  
  
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Somewhere inside the cafeteria, Ryu sat and ate quietly. She's always with those two. He pointedly ignored his companion of the moment. A sophomore girl with pretty blond hair, who was talking animatedly at him, not noticing his lack of response. He had barely sat down at the table when she joined him. This was of course nothing new, and so he just let her be. At any other time he would have flattered her and charmed her, but today, he was just too preoccupied with the incident in the classroom. and if it wasn't the Souma boys, she was with those weird friends of hers, the Freak and the Yankee He gripped his spoon tightly. The Prince of their school. True, Ryu had quite a lot of admirers, but then Souma Yuki had more. Almost half the school was in love with him. True also that Ryu was wealthy, but then, so were the Soumas. His grip on his spoon tightened even more. That stuck-up snob! he thought angrily about Yuki. And then there was Kyou. It wasn't enough that he had to deal with "Prince Yuki", but he had Orange- atama on his hands too! "Kyon-kyon" as his class had affectionately called the orange-head. Ryu was tough, with his 'bad boy' image. But so was Souma Kyou. That guy was practically the definition of the word 'Rebel'. Anti- social, moody, temper mental, tough. He had that glowering look that most girls loved. Finally the spoon snapped at his intense grip. And the girl in front of him stared at him, startled. "Ryu-kun? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.  
  
"Aa." He gave her a dazzling smile. And of course, the girl melted to mush.  
  
I'm going to beat those two. he thought confidently. Tohru-chan, you're going to be mine.  
  
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A/N: Well, that's all for now minna-san! Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews please!!! 


	2. chapter 2

AN: the reviews that I got were really inspiring! Thanks a lot minna- san!!!!! If this chapter got out quickly, its because of your positive response to this fic!!!!! Arigatou!!!!  
  
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Yuki woke up to the glaring rays of the sun. His body automatically got up, but his mind was still asleep. He went down and headed to the dining room. The sounds from the kitchen indicated that Tohru was making breakfast already. And since it was his morning routine, Kyou must be outside doing his kata's too. Shigure would probably still be asleep. that lazy bum Yuki thought crossly. He sat down and patiently waited for Tohru to finish cooking and join him at the table.  
  
Sure enough, after a few moments, the girl arrived carrying loads of plates. She deftly set it down before him, then greeted him with a cheerful "Ohayou". Kyou came in a few moments later. And they ate breakfast happily. Well, at least Tohru was. The rat and the cat were just glaring at each other. All in all, the morning was a normal one.  
  
"As usual, Honda-san's cooking is delicious" Yuki said, smiling at the girl before him.  
  
"Ah! No! its really not that good-" Tohru said, waving her hands frantically "But I thank Yuki-kun for saying so."  
  
"Well, at least its not leeks. So I guess its fine." Kyou said grudgingly.  
  
Yuki glared at the cat, muttering something about baka nekos without any sense of taste. Tohru simply smiled, knowing that this was just Kyou's way of telling her that her cooking was good.  
  
After everyone was finished eating, Tohru got up and started to clear the table.  
  
"Ah, Honda-san, let me help you with that." Yuki said, already gathering some of the plates and bringing them to the kitchen.  
  
Kyou got up as well, and went directly to the fridge. Taking a gulp of his milk directly out of the carton. He glanced up and saw the rat setting the dishes on the sink, Tohru just right behind him. As soon as the girl started washing the dishes, she immediately handed it over to the boy beside her, who dried it and carefully set it aside. The two fell into an easy rhythm. Kyou glared at his rival's back. Kuso neezumi! Sucking up to Tohru. Why does he always have to pretend to be the perfect gentleman! Kyou thought angrily. Though inside, he really did feel a twinge of jealousy. The rat was more at ease with Tohru that he could ever be. The rat could voice out his feelings more freely, though not to the point of directly telling the girl that he liked her. In some ways, Kyou envied the rat. With one final glare, Kyou left the two and went upstairs to get his things.  
  
"Yuki-kun is so kind to help me wash the dishes" Tohru said meekly. "Yuki- kun has done so much for me already. He really doesn't have to help me with my chores."  
  
"Nonsense Honda-san. It's the least I could do for all the help that you've given us." Yuki stole a glance at the girl at his side, who currently had her head bent in a gesture of shyness. Honda-san.. You are truly a gift..  
  
Tohru just nodded, and continued with her dishwashing. Soon, the chore was done and they both headed towards their rooms to prepare their things.  
  
But just as Tohru was about to go upstairs, Kyou came down carrying a familiar bag in his hand, while holding his own with the other.  
  
"Here." And a bag was thrust at her face.  
  
"Kyou-kun didn't have to get my bag for me! I'm already enough of a burden as it is!" Tohru said frantically.  
  
Kyou just turned his head to the side and said "I passed your room on my way down. So I just got your bag so that we won't get delayed for school. You know how clumsy you are, you could have fallen off the stairs on your way down, and then that would have made us late for school."  
  
"Arigatou Kyou-kun. Kyou-kun is so kind to worry about me!" Tohru said, bowing.  
  
"Honda-san, are you ready?" Yuki said, at the foot of the stairs, just slightly behind Kyou. He had his things in his hands too.  
  
"Hai! Kyou-kun was kind enough to get my things for me. So I didn't have to go upstairs." Tohru said enthusiastically.  
  
"Ah I see. Well, then, shall we go?" Yuki let Tohru go ahead of him, and he followed, but not before giving the cat a glare. Kyou merely looked away. Hmph. You're not the only one who can help Tohru you know, kuso neezumi!  
  
And then the trio headed off to school.  
  
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He glanced at his watch impatiently. Raking a hand through his dark brown hair, he scanned the crowd of students entering the school gate with his piercing gray eyes. Where is she? From his vantage point at the base of the tree just inside the school campus, he could practically see every student getting in the school. But he had yet to see signs of his angel.  
  
A couple of girls waved at him. He waved back, giving them his devil-may- care smile. It had its usual effect of blushes and giggles. Hmph! Wish I had that effect on Tohru-chan Then, suddenly, a flash of chestnut hair caught his eyes. Sure, a lot of students in the school had brown hair, he himself had that color, but he could recognize that hair anywhere. Tohru- chan..  
  
But then, he noticed the two boys right beside her. What?! Those two again? They even come to school together?!!! he thought angrily at the Souma boys. They were speaking animatedly to Tohru. At least Yuki was. Kyou was just giving occasional comments here and there when directly asked. He was seething. Here he was, patiently waiting for Tohru to arrive so that he could walk her to class, and she already has companions! Well, to hell with them! With that thought in mind, Ryu walked towards the trio.  
  
"Honda-san. Ohayou" He said calmly as he reached her.  
  
Tohru turned around, quite startled. "Ah! Akamatsu-san. You startled me.. Anou.. Ohayou gozaimasu!"  
  
Ryu ignored the glares that he received from Yuki and Kyou.  
  
"May I walk with you to class?" he said, directly looking at Tohru, pointedly ignoring the two boys at her side.  
  
Yuki was just about to politely decline the offer for Tohru, when the girl cheerfully said, "Of course. Akamatsu-san is always welcome to join us! Ne Yuki-kun? Kyou-kun?" Tohru looked at the Souma boys with her innocent eyes, blissfully unaware of the tense current that was passing through them.  
  
"Of course Honda-san." Yuki said, smiling down at her. Though inside, he was irritated at the thought of Ryu joining them.  
  
Kyou stayed silent, though he really wished he could just yell at the bastard to go and fuck off! But he knew that Tohru would be mortified at this. So he just kept his mouth shut.  
  
"Arigatou Honda-san." Ryu said, his voice infused with charm. He smirked at the irate Yuki. Then, to add more fuel to Yuki and Kyou's already burning tempers he said, "Ah! That must be heavy Honda-san. Let me carry them for you." He reached for her books and carried them easily along with his own set of books.  
  
Tohru was surprised at the gesture, but the action produced a blush to her cheeks all the same. "Arigatou Akamatsu-san."  
  
Her head was bowed, so she didn't see the shocked expressions on Yuki and Kyou's faces, which quickly turned to frowns. Ryu noticed though, and again, he gave the two boys a victorious smirk.  
  
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They soon arrived to their classroom, and Yuki and Kyou immediately went to their chairs. But Ryu stayed awhile with Tohru and walked her to her table. He pulled out her chair and placed her books on her desk. The gallant act produced another blush to Tohru's cheeks, and a couple more glares from Kyou and Yuki, who couldn't do anything but sulk at the fact that they hadn't thought of that first.  
  
The two Soumas were beginning to get alarmed at the pace that their newfound rival was setting.  
  
Ryu acted as if this was nothing out of the ordinary and went to sit on his own desk. But inside, he thought smugly Another victory for me. Loving the envy he felt from the two Soumas. What a way to start the day. a grin swept its way across his features.  
  
The teacher arrived and classes began.  
  
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AN: Yay!!!! Finished chapter 2. hope you like it everyone!!!! Wrote this just for you! *waves and smiles* 


	3. chapter 3

AN: minna! Thanks again for the reviews. Maeko-san, thanks so much for the advice. I'll try to abide by them. Sorry if I can't make my chapters longer. But I'll make it up by uploading chapters faster. But I won't be able to write the next chapters as fast as the first three since my classes are going to resume tomorrow. I didn't have any class last Friday, yesterday and today. So I was able to write one chapter per day. But my classes are going to start again tomorrow, so I'll have less free time. But don't worry, I'll try hard to be able to write the next chapter sooner.  
  
Please allow me a moment to rant about my finance teacher. He just pisses me off!!! He's gay (I have nothing against gays, but he's just so biased!!!) so he gives girls lower grades. If you're pretty, he'll hate you on sight! And he had us write a paper about any current issue and give a recommendation on how to solve the problem. I wrote about corruption. My recommendation began with "there are many ways on how to stop corruption. And these are the best of the lot:" and I went on to enumerate the different tactics that I got from the World Bank. After that, I finished it with "and therefore, I greatly recommend that the government take corruption seriously and put a stop to it". I didn't know that he was only looking for the part with the phrase "I recommend". He didn't even read the rest of the paper! It was so obvious since he encircled the phrase "take corruption seriously and put a stop to it" and wrote (with red ink) "HOW". I nearly shrieked! At the beginning of the paragraph were the words "..many ways on HOW to stop corruption. And these are the best of the lot:" he didn't read them!!!!!!! And when I pointed it out to him, he merely shrugged and said that he had already recorded my grade so it can't be changed. I got a very low score!!!! Damn that guy/girl, whatever he thinks he is!!!!!  
  
WHEW! All finished. I just had to get that out of my system. Now on with the story!  
  
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"So, the Tokugawa Era ended when the Shogunate was overthrown by the Royalists. Then the Meiji Era..." the teacher droned on. From his seat, Ryu was engaged in his favorite pastime-gazing at Honda Tohru, who was presently taking down notes, as usual. She really was diligent in her studies, though for him, school was just a necessity. He was the son of a rich shipping magnate, earning a high school diploma, not to mention a college degree, was a must. He opened his notebook and drew some doodles. (his doodles were what would constitute as "sketches" to other people) He was a very talented artist. *Yawn* This is so boring! Who cares about what happened to some guy during the Bakumatsu!!! he looked down at his work, and was quite surprised. Without being conscious of it, he had made a sketch of Tohru. It was a simple one (what do you expect? It was supposed to be a doodle.), a picture of her taking down notes, with this determined look in her eyes. hmm. not bad. Suddenly an idea formed in his mind. (you'll find out in the later part of the story what his idea is).  
  
"Honda." The teacher called.  
  
"Hai.." Tohru got up nervously.  
  
"Who was the Choshu leader who negotiated the Satsuma-Choshu alliance with Saigo and Okubo?"  
  
"Anou.. Um..." Tohru frantically searched through her notes. After a few moments (and a lot of panicky thoughts) she found the name that she was looking for. "Katsura Kogoro desu" She sighed in relief. To her side, she saw Yuki smile at her, and Kyou nodd in approval. That was close!  
  
"Right. Katsura Kogoro played a leading role in the new government's Charter Oath, abolition of feudalism and other reforms; he accompanied Iwakurato the West in 1872-1873, resigned his posts in protest against the Formosan expedition of 1874, and died during the Satsuma rebellion." The teacher continued.  
  
Ryu smiled. He loved the way Tohru panicked about anything and everything. He loved her energy. He looked at his two rivals. One was staring out of the window with a bored look on his face. The other was staring at the teacher, writing down something once in a while. You can't find two more opposite guys, he thought. Are they really cousins? he mentally shrugged. He couldn't care less. But then, Yuki glanced at Tohru, and at the other side, Kyou did the same. Tohru seemed to notice and immediately gave the two guys a sweet smile. This got Ryu grinding his teeth. Guess I really have a lot of work to do.. he thought grimly.  
  
"Souma Yuki" the teacher hollered. The teacher was in a mood for recitation.  
  
"Hai" the silver haired student gracefully rose to his feet. All over the classroom, girls swooned. Some guys drooled.  
  
"After their defeat, Katsura Kogoro had escaped from Kyoto. Where did he hide himself for three months?"  
  
Without a moments hesitation, Yuki calmly answered the difficult question. "he hid himself in the small onsen inn in Kinosaki. He stayed at Tsutaya for Three months." The members of the Princess club shrieked, the other students were amazed. Even their teacher had an awed look. And Tohru, his beloved Tohru, was practically beaming at Yuki. This made Ryu even madder. Prince Perfect Yuki. What a geek! he thought angrily.  
  
In her seat, Hanajima stared at the handsome male seated at the back of the class angry denpa's.. I wonder.  
  
Yuki sat back down, and returned Tohru's smile with his own. The Princess club hissed again.  
  
*RRRIIINGGG* the bell sounded. It was lunch break. Ryu got up and walked towards Tohru. The girl was about to go towards Yuki, when Ryu intercepted her.  
  
"Honda-san-" he said calmly.  
  
Tohru's eyes widened.. "Akamatsu-san!" she said, her hand flying to her chest in a gesture of surprise.  
  
Ryu smiled at this. "Honda-san is so cute when she gets surprised." He said. This produced a blush on Tohru's face. "ah! Iya." she said, flustered, waving her hands. Ryu caught her left hand and held it. "I'm telling the truth Honda-san. Hontou ni kawaii" Tohru stiffened slightly. Completely taken by surprise at such a bold act, but was too innocent to get insulted. Yuki and Kyou's eyes widened in shock, they had never dared to hold Tohru's hand, and here was this new comer who was so bold as to do such a thing . They were waiting for Tohru at the side, along with Hanajima and Arisa. The two girls were surprised too. Though only Arisa's face showed it. Hanajima had her usual stoic expression.  
  
By this time, Tohru's face was very red. But she had yet to remove her hand from Ryu's grasp. "Anou, did Akamatsu-kun want something from me?" Tohru asked hesitantly, still in a state of shock. "Aa. Since Honda-san wasn't able to join me for lunch yesterday, I was wondering if you are free today."  
  
Tohru glanced at her friends. They really didn't have anything planned today. Sure, she had intended to join them for lunch, but that was merely because of habit. She had lunch with them everyday.  
  
"Ahh. hai. I'm free today." She said hesitantly.  
  
"Great. You'll join me for lunch then?" Ryu said smiling sweetly at her.  
  
"Hai." She looked over at her friends, "You go on ahead without me. I'll have lunch with Akamatsu-kun." She waved at them cheerfully.  
  
"See you later Tohru." This was from Hanajima.  
  
"Aa. Later Tohru." Arisa said this.  
  
Yuki and Kyou just stared for a bit, then Yuki smiled weakly and Kyou sent a glare at Ryu's direction. Both then walked out. Tohru was of course, oblivious to all this, and just smiled innocently at them all.  
  
"Shall we?" Ryu said to Tohru. "Ah! Hai! Akamatsu-kun is so kind to offer to have lunch with me today." She said with her usual cheerful voice. She gave him a smile. This set Ryu's heart soaring.  
  
They found an empty seat at the canteen. Some students were already giving them curious glances. Most of them from girls. Akamatsu-san is so cool. They must be wondering what I'm doing with such a guy. Tohru thought nervously. "Honda-san, is something wrong?" Ryu asked when he saw the uneasy look on Tohru's face. "No! its nothing." Tohru said quickly, afraid to offend him. Ryu looked skeptical, but didn't press the issue. "So where does Honda-san live?" Ryu started the conversation. EEP!! Tohru panicked. I can't very well tell him that I live with the Souma's! "Uhh. well. I live near the Soumas" She said, altering the truth a bit. "Really? No wonder you're so close with them." 'Close' is an understatement. Ryu thought with annoyance. "Um.. yes. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are so kind to become friends with me." Was the shy statement from Tohru. "Of course not. They're rather lucky that you agreed to become friends with them. Honda-san is a very special person." This produced another blush from Tohru. But before she could give a reply, a high-pitched voice rose over the din. "Too- ru!!!!!" Tohru turned to her side and saw Momiji plop right beside her.  
  
"Momiji-kun!" Tohru said, delighted to see the young boy beside her.  
  
"Konnichiwa" Tohru looked up to see the owner of the new voice. It was Hatsuharu. He gave Ryu a nod.  
  
"Hatsuharu-kun, you're here too." Tohru said smiling. She was so happy to have them here. Akamatsu-san is very nice, but he was flattering her too much that she was beginning to have an attack of shyness.  
  
"To-ru, where are Yuki and Kyou?" Momiji asked cutely, laying his head on her shoulder. "And who is he To-ru?" he said, clearly referring to Ryu.  
  
"Ah. Gomen. I forgot to introduce you. This is Akamatsu-san. Akamatsu-san, these are my friends, Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun."  
  
"Akamatsu Ryu desu. Yoroshiku." Ryu said casually, though inside he was irritated by the intrusion. Why is she surrounded by males? he thought.  
  
Haru simply nodded. Momiji looked thoughtful. "To-ru, you still haven't answered my question. Why aren't you with Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun today?" Momiji said dripping with innocence. The statement riled Ryu to no end.  
  
"They're having lunch with Hana-chan and Uo-chan. Akamatsu-san invited me to lunch today." Tohru explained to the bunny. "Eh?! To-ru is having lunch with some other guy. Well, Haru and I will stay here, to chaperone you!" Momiji said, smiling. "After all, To-ru is precious to us. We'll guard you!!!"  
  
Haru simply raised an eyebrow, but sat beside Ryu all the same, making it clear that he was staying.  
  
Guard her?!!! What does he think of me? A molester?! Ryu was getting angrier and angrier. But he couldn't very well object to their presence. After all, they were Tohru's friends.  
  
"That's great Momiji-kun. I've missed Momiji-kun already." Tohru said. The statement produced a giggle from the rabbit.  
  
"Ne, To-ru, do you know what day tomorrow is?" Momiji said, shifting in his seat restlessly. Excitement was stamped on his every move.  
  
"let's see. Tomorrow is March 14, so its white's day"  
  
"Yup!!!! And tomorrow, I'm going to take you out to dinner! Its going to be my White's day gift to To-ru! Just you and me. It's going to be our date!" was the high-pitched wail.  
  
"Hontou?! Momiji-kun is so nice! I'll be looking forward to our date." Tohru said with a giggle. The rabbit really amused her. And he was just so cute.  
  
WHAT?!!!! I was planning to take her out tomorrow. Damn! The day was getting worse and worse for Ryu. All his plans were getting ruined. They had classes tomorrow, so the only time they had free to go out was in the evening, so he couldn't go out with his angel during lunch. This caused his temper to rise even more. You could practically see smoke coming out of his head.  
  
All this while Haru just sat silently. Observing the scene with some amusement. He could feel the guy getting angry, though he didn't know why. a mystery. he thought. He was still surprised though that Yuki and Kyou had allowed Tohru to be alone with some other guy. What were they thinking? but he left the issue for the moment, thinking to ask the rat and the cat later.  
  
And thus the scene continued. With Momiji babbling to Tohru excitedly about their "date", Haru staying silent, and Ryu boiling with rage.  
  
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AN: that's it for now! Gomen about the Rurouni Kenshin insertions. I just couldn't resist making it their history lesson! *grins* Please feel free to give suggestions. And I'll try my best to follow them. *waves* thanks for reading minna-san! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
  
By the way, I would like to invite you all to Audiogalaxy.com it's a fun place. Its supposed to be a site where you can download songs, but it got sued, something about piracy. But anyway, the place has lots of messageboards and we use it to roleplay or just chat about silly topics. Most of the message boards become communities, with the same people coming in. we practically know each other there. I belong to the Gundam Wing messageboard. Just type Gundam Wing on the slot at the top of the page just beside the word "go". Thanks again! 


	4. chapter 4

AN: here it is! Chapter 4. its nothing much really. Just an ordinary House scene with the Soumas! Hope you'll enjoy reading it!  
  
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The rest of the day had been uneventful. After that incident in the classroom and the cafeteria, no more surprising events had happened. And so we find our trio walking home.  
  
"Tadaima!" Tohru hollered cheerfully when they reached the house.  
  
"Tadaima" Yuki said, a bit more calmly.  
  
Kyou just kept silent. (^_^')  
  
"Ah! Tohru-kun! You're back!!! Okaeri!" a whiny voice called from Shigure's office. And sure enough, when they looked ahead, they found the author's head poking out of the door. "I was beginning to get lonely without Tohru- kun around! Would Tohru-kun like to keep me company later tonight? Its so cold in my bed, there's a lot of space available. It would certainly make this old man's heart happy." Shigure said in his singsong voice.  
  
*WHACK!!!!*  
  
*BANG!!!!!*  
  
"PERVERT!!!!" Yuki and Kyou walked away, dusting their hands off from what they considered as "Shigure's perversion". They were afraid that it might be contagious.  
  
Tohru merely sweatdropped. She never got used to them whacking Shigure senseless. But seeing how its been done already, she just proceeded to the kitchen to prepare dinner.  
  
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She was stirring her pot of beef stew, while waiting for the tea to finish boiling, when.. Akamatsu-san is really nice. He's been so courteous, if not a bit too flattering. She suddenly blushed as she remembered all the nice things Ryu said to her earlier that day. She wasn't used to compliments. Sure, Yuki, Kyou, Uo-chan, Hana-chan and the other Juunishi gave her enough compliments, but they're just being nice, and besides, they were her friends. She barely knew Akamatsu-san. he's really handsome too. I'm sure he's really popular with girls. Tohru proceeded with her thoughts of all of Ryu's "assets".  
  
She was so engrossed with her thoughts (more like a daydream) that she wasn't paying any attention to the food she was cooking. Until the stew started to emit steam in huge amounts from too much heat. The hot steam hit her hand, and she pulled it away, grimacing at the pain, dropping her ladle to the floor with the a loud "THUNK".  
  
Immediately, Yuki, Kyou and Shigure appeared into the kitchen as they heard the commotion.  
  
"Tohru-kun, what happened?" Shigure came to her side, with Yuki and Kyou at his heels. "Honda-san!" Yuki cried out in concern as he saw the beginning of what promised to be a huge blister on her right hand.  
  
"Baka! What did you do now?" Kyou's tone was a bit harsh, but you could hear the underlying tones of worry in his voice.  
  
"Ahh. Betsuni!!!! I just spaced out for a bit. Its nothing really." Tohru tried to be brave. She didn't want to bother them. After all, it really was her fault in the first place, dreaming when she should have been concentrating on cooking.  
  
"I'll call Hatori" was all that Shigure said, before he went out of the kitchen, leaving the two boys hovering over Tohru with concern.  
  
"This is serious Honda-san. Your hand is already very red." Yuki was frowning as he said this. She must really be in pain. His face was creased with worry as he gently inspected Tohru's hand, trying to determine how serious the injury really was.  
  
Kyou was much in the same state, although he was more "ineloquent" about it. "Damn it Baka, didn't anyone ever teach you to pay attention when you're cooking?! You could have burned the house down!" was the yell that came out of the cat.  
  
Yuki glared at Kyou for being what he thought was too harsh. "Oi baka neko! Quit yelling at Honda-san. She doesn't need the added worry. She's got enough problems as it is!"  
  
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING BAKA, KUSO NEEZUMI!" was the angry reply. The cat was no good at handling his emotions, he was very short tempered, especially when he was tense. And right now, with Tohru badly burned, he was VERY tense. Concern was etched on his features, but only if you knew him well enough to be able to interpret his expression as one of concern. Most would just call it a "glower".  
  
"Maa, maa. You shouldn't fight." Tohru said quickly, before the two got into one of their constant battles. "Its okay Yuki-kun, it really was my fault. Kyou-kun was right. I really should have paid attention to what I was doing. I could have badly damaged Shigure-san's house." The last part was said with a slight tremble in her voice. I'm such an idiot. They take care of me, place a roof on my head, and I can't even spare enough effort to pay attention to my job! Tohru reprimanded herself.  
  
"Honda-san, is it that painful?" Yuki asked, mistaking the tremble in her voice as one caused by pain due to her injury.  
  
"Iya. I'm fine Yuki-kun. Why don't you two go ahead. I'm sure you both have a lot to do aside from wasting your time on me."  
  
"Of course not! And we are not wasting our time. After all the things that Honda-san has done for us, the least we could do is take care of her when she's hurt." Yuki patted her hand out of habit, and of course Tohru winced at the pain. Yuki's eyes widened at his folly. "Gomen Honda-san!"  
  
"Tch. Kuso neezumi! Watch what you're doing! Who's the baka now?!"  
  
Yuki sent the cat a deathglare. "Why don't you make yourself useful and finish what Honda-san was cooking instead of just wasting our time and hurtling insults at us! Baka!!"  
  
Kyou's hackles raised, but after sending Yuki a few glares of his own, he went to the stove. There really wasn't much left to do. Tohru was almost finished when the accident had occurred. All he had to do was just let the stew simmer for awhile.  
  
"Hatori's coming over in a few minutes. Momiji and Haru are coming too." Shigure had just entered the kitchen. "Eh? Kyou's cooking dinner? I won't get to eat Tohru-kun's delicious food!!!!" he whined.  
  
"Ahou! If you don't like it, then don't eat!! And it's Tohru's cooking by the way. I'm just reheating it!" Kyou glared at the whiny dog (who was still whining at the moment. T_T)  
  
"Eh!!! Momiji-kun and the others are coming?! I didn't prepare that much food! They'll have nothing to eat." Tohru was beginning to panic. She would have started wringing her hands if Yuki wasn't holding one of them.  
  
"Don't worry Honda-san. I'm sure they'll have eaten already. You can just serve them cake, we still have some in the fridge." Yuki assured the worried girl. "And if that isn't enough, we can have baka neko over here to cook more food. At least that way, he'll be of some use."  
  
Kyou whirled around to face Yuki and yelled "AT LEAST I CAN COOK!!!!!"  
  
"Urusai! And pay attention to what you're cooking! Or we won't have any dinner! Baka neko!!" Yuki began to lead Tohru to the dining room, where he had her sit down. "Just sit Honda-san. Hatori should be here any moment." Shigure, having followed them, sat across from Tohru. "Does it still hurt Tohru-kun? Here, let me kiss it to make the pain go away!" the dog cheerfully stated. "Shiigguuureee." Yuki said menacingly, already raising his fist, ready to punch the dog.  
  
Shigure's eyes widened, and he sweated nervously. "Uh. on second thought, we'd better wait for Ha-san to arrive. He'll be able to treat much it better." He said quickly, already moving out of the way, just in case the rat decided to punch him anyway.  
  
The door then opened, "TO-RU!!!!! DAIJOUBU?!!!" a bundle of energy suddenly hurtled itself towards the shocked Tohru, grabbing her at the waist. And then.. PYON! A cloud of dust later, the girl was already holding a cuddly bunny in her arms. A bunny who currently had a very worried look on his face.  
  
"is To-ru alright? I heard from Hari that Tohru got hurt." Momiji said, his voice tinged with concern.  
  
"Aa. I'm fine Momiji-kun. I just got burned a little." Tohru tried to placate the rabbit. She didn't want him to worry himself over it.  
  
"Let me be the judge of that Tohru-kun." The quiet voice came from the doorway. And sure enough, Hatori came in, followed by Haru. The latter just gave a nod as a sign of greeting.  
  
"Give me your hand." Tohru disentangled her injured hand from Momiji's "hug" (more like clinging) and gave it to the doctor, who turned it around gently. "Hmm. it isn't very serious. But its not to be taken lightly either." As he said this, he rummaged through his bag, and came up with a medicine (or is it called salve? Gomen. I don't know what it's called. just something for burns! ^_^'). "This should do it." He expertly applied it to the reddened hand, and immediately, a soothing numbness enveloped it. Hatori then wrapped her hand in bandages, "There. You shouldn't do much work on it. Later, when the medicine wears off, you might begin to feel the burns again. So when that time comes, take these." He handed her a bottle of pills. "They're pain killers. Just take one before each meal." (I don't know if that's really the correct prescription. Bear with me minna-san.). Tohru nodded obediently and whispered "Arigatou. Hatori-san is always there to take care of me. I truly appreciate it." She took a peek at the doctor, and she could swear that the corners of his mouth crinkled just a bit.  
  
"its nothing. Just take better care of yourself ok? These oafs would become a disaster area without you to take care of them." Hatori said, clearly indicating his cousins.  
  
"Ha-san is so mean!!!! Hidoi yo!!!!" Shigure whined.  
  
"Ne To-ru is ok now right? Pain has gone away right?" Tohru looked down at her lap to see the rabbit insistently tugging her skirt.  
  
"Hai. Hatori-san fixed it up real nicely." She smiled at the bunny, who squealed excitedly. "Wai!!!! Then To-ru will be able to make it on our date!!!"  
  
"DATE?" Yuki and Kyou both exclaimed simultaneously. Kyou having just entered the room, was greeted by this shocking statement.  
  
The rabbit scampered off to the side, and just in time too, for just as he made it to the corner PYON!, he transformed. He came back after a minute or so, fully dressed. "Hai! To-ru and I have a date tomorrow! It's my White's day gift to her!!!"  
  
"Of course I'll make it Momiji-kun. I wouldn't miss it for anything. It's Momiji-kun's gift to me, I'll surely treasure it. I'm excited already!" Tohru said hoping to reassure the rabbit.  
  
"Wai! It's a good thing I acted fast and asked To-ru out immediately. That guy looked like he was about to take my To-ru away from me on White's day!!!" Momiji exclaimed, pouting his lips cutely.  
  
"Eh?! Guy? What guy?!" Again, Kyou and Yuki both shouted simultaneously.  
  
"The guy having lunch with Tohru at the cafeteria. Akamatsu." The statement from Haru drew everyone's gaze. They had quite forgotten that he was there with him having been so quiet.  
  
"Hai! Him. He looked really mean. Haru and I stayed there with them to guard To-ru! Akamatsu-san had a really scary looking scowl on his face! Kowaii!!!!" Momiji had once again sat beside Tohru, and was now clinging to her arm as he said this.  
  
"You stayed there with them?!!!!" this was from Kyou. "And he let you?!!" this came from Yuki.  
  
"He really didn't have a choice. Usagi-chan here kind of forced himself on them." Haru made the statement calmly.  
  
"But I was only guarding To-ru! That guy spoke too freely!" Momiji protested. "He was making To-ru red in the face!" Momiji said, innocently misinterpreting Tohru's blushes earlier that day for one of embarrassment.  
  
Now this statement produced a variety of reactions. Yuki and Kyou's eyebrows shot to their hairline. Hatori merely looked on with his usual deadpan expression. Shigure looked like he was delighted with this little tidbit. Haru just sat there. Clearly everyone had no trouble interpreting Tohru's earlier reactions correctly.  
  
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Next chapter : what I would call, "the Meeting!" Yuki, Kyou and the others try to find out what happened during lunch! What are they to do?!!!! Dinner's going to be eaten in the next chapter too. Heh heh. incase all of you are wondering what happened to the offending pot of stew. -_-"  
  
AN: this chapter is a bit longer than my usual. Hope you enjoyed it!!!!! Thanks so much for the reviews. It really inspires me to write more!!!! Arigatou! Hontou ni arigatou gozaimsu!!!! Oh! And don't ask me why Momiji suddenly decided to scamper off to the side before he transformed. I just didn't want him to transform right in front of them, it would have been awkward. Gomen.!!!!  
  
Mayorie ^_^' 


	5. chapter 5

AN: gomen! I know this chapter took awhile before I was able to upload it, but I've been pretty busy. I'm flooded with homework. Good thing I have this fic as a way to relax. Anyway, I'm really going to have to find someone to assassinate my finance teacher. You know what he did? He told us that we were going to have a quiz on chapter 1. chapter 1 merely consists of 4 pages, easy right? Wrong! When we got to the classroom, the class was so surprised when it turned out to be a major exam! Not a quiz!!! But a major exam! Including lessons that we didn't study for! It was so difficult!!!! And when he gave out the results, the highest score was 35% out of 100%!!!! Nobody in class passed! We all failed! Most of the marks were 10% or 20%. Can you imagine? Our teacher is really mean!!!! He's the lowest of the low! Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Ok, enough of my negativity, on with the story!!!!!!!!! Gomen for the rants minna-san.  
  
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"Anou, I really should serve dinner now. It must be getting cold." Tohru said attempting to break the deafening silence that descended the room after Momiji made his startling statement.  
  
Her quiet voice rustled everyone out of their stupor, Yuki was the first to answer her. "Ah, Honda-san shouldn't overtax herself. Let baka neko here do the job." A glare was thrown his way, but for once, the cat obliged the mouse, thinking that he was right. After all, they couldn't very well ask Yuki to get the food, who knows what might happen? The rat was all thumbs when it comes to the kitchen. And Kyou had put some effort in reheating that food. He can't let anything happen to it. Grumbling a bit, Kyou got up and disappeared to the kitchen.  
  
"Wai!!!! We get to eat To-ru's cooking!!!" Momiji exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight.  
  
"Gomenasai, but it isn't much. I wasn't expecting company you see, so I didn't cook a lot of food." Tohru said this with her eyes cast down, then she suddenly looked back up again, "but of course I'm not blaming you! Its all my fault for not being prepared!!!" she said immediately, hoping she didn't offend anyone by her earlier remark.  
  
"Of course not Tohru-kun! Ha-san understands. After all, we really didn't plan all of this ne?" The dog smilingly said this to the distraught girl, hoping to ease her worries.  
  
"We really don't mind To-ru! Anything To-ru cooks for us is fine!" Momiji, by this time had already returned to his earlier position of clinging to Tohru.  
  
"Arigatou." The girl shyly said. They're all so kind. I'm so lucky to have friends like them.  
  
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-Dinner time-  
  
*sniff* "Ahh!!!! Everything smells so good! Especially since Tohru-kun made it! It makes me so happy!!!" dramatic tears were already pouring down Shigure's cheeks. "Ne Tohru-kun, would you like me to show you my appreciation later tonight?" Shigure suggested.  
  
*WHAM!* Surprisingly, it wasn't Yuki who did the punching this time. And neither was it Kyou. It was Hatori. The dragon still had his deadpan expression on, but the punch had been rather forceful, belaying his true feelings on the matter. "Shigure, behave yourself." Was all that he said in his usual quiet voice.  
  
"Hai. but Ha-san didn't have to hit me so hard!" the dog was pouting.  
  
"Serves you right, ahou" Yuki muttered under his breath. "Ne To-ru, would you like some fish? Here let me get you some! To-ru shouldn't do anything since she's injured!" Momiji had seated himself beside Tohru, and was now pointing out the various dishes laid out at the table. Kyou had thoughtfully cooked some extra dishes and had surprised everyone when he served so much food at the table.  
  
"Hai. Arigatou Momiji-kun!" Tohru was smiling. The rabbit had this kind of effect on her. He was just so cheerful that it rubbed off on people. It was hard not to be cheerful whenever Momiji was around.  
  
"Yuki, would you like some stew as well?" Haru said. After seeing Momiji serving Tohru, he thought that it might be a good idea to mimic his moves. Maybe the action would endear him to the mouse.  
  
Yuki looked at Haru strangely, then merely nodded. "Sure. And thank you."  
  
Kyou by this time was munching heavily. Hatori taking on eating as he did to everything else, which is calmly. And Shigure was giggling at whatever queer thought was in his head. All in all, dinner looked very ... 'festive'.  
  
When everything was finished, Tohru made a move to get up and clear the table, but Kyou stopped her, and Yuki beat her to the task.  
  
"You should just rest Tohru." The cat quietly said.  
  
"Yes Honda-san. We'll take care of everything. Just go upstairs and sleep." Yuki was already heading towards the kitchen, his arms filled with dirty plates.  
  
"I'll take you to your room Tohru-kun!" Shigure said, moving towards Tohru.  
  
Suddenly, Kyou yanked the dog by the collar and dragged towards the kitchen. "You don't get off that easily. Since we're doing the dishes, that means you have to do them too! Usagi! Take Tohru to her room and make sure she rests." Kyou told the rabbit before he disappeared to the kitchen with Shigure in tow.  
  
Momiji led Tohru up to her room and made sure she was in bed before he left. Then he made his way back down. Since everybody seemed to be in the kitchen, he followed them there.  
  
"Ne, why does To-ru need rest? She only injured her hand! You don't need rest for that." Then after a thought occurred to him, "You weren't trying to get rid of To-ru were you? Wai! That's so mean!!!! What did To-ru ever do to you?" the rabbit was hopping all over the place.  
  
"hey keep quiet usagi!" Kyou hissed at the wailing rabbit.  
  
Since the rabbit didn't seem to be listening to the cat, Yuki decided to take care of the situation himself. He grabbed the bunny's arm and cupped his face. "Ne Momiji, we just want to know what happened to Honda-san during lunch." He said quietly.  
  
Instead of having a calming effect on Momiji, which was what usually happened, this time, it had the opposite. The rabbit's eyes widened in delight and he screamed "YUKI AND KYOU ARE BEING NOSY!!!!" then he giggled adorably.  
  
"I SAID KEEP QUIET USAGI!!!! Do you want her to wake up?!" Kyou yelled at the giggling bunny. Then he dragged the rabbit over to the table at the corner of the kitchen and made him sit on one of the chairs. Everybody followed, and soon, all of them were gathered around Momiji, eyes expectant and damn curious.  
  
"So Momiji, what happened during lunch? You said that Akamatsu-san was making Honda-san red in the face. What did he say exactly?" Yuki asked.  
  
Momiji placed his forefinger at the corner of his mouth, making a posture of deep thought. Although, knowing the rabbit, he may just be doing it to make him look cute, or simply to prolong the anxiety of his cousins.  
  
Kyou was all too ready to throttle the rabbit. But just as he was about to reach for the bunny's neck, Shigure spoke up. "Ne Momichi, have mercy on these two jealous guys and just tell us what happened."  
  
"Us? Jealous?! Who do you think you're kidding ahou?! You're just as curious as we are!!!! Don't go using our names when its you who's really anxious to know about what happened!" Kyou yelled in his usual temperamental manner.  
  
"Yare yare. You're too uptight Kyou-kun!!! Calm down or you'll pop a blood vessel." The author teasingly replied, annoying his cousin to no end. Hatori muttered something about being surprised that Shigure even knew what a blood vessel was.  
  
"Well, I actually didn't hear him say anything.." Momiji began, already looking sheepish. "when we arrived, all he ever said to us was his name. He just kept glowering at me the whole time! He was so scary!!!"  
  
"WHAT?!!!!!! You don't know anything?!!!!" were the surprised remarks that he drew from Shigure, Kyou and Yuki. Hatori just sat there, Haru smiled in amusement, and Momiji held his hands up as if to deflect the loud shouts coming from his enraged cousins. Well, Yuki and Kyou were angry, Shigure merely looked surprised. Very surprised.  
  
"What were you two thinking anyway? Letting Tohru go off alone with some unknown guy." The cow's statement brought all heads swerving abruptly towards him.  
  
"Well, what were we supposed to do? We couldn't very well forbid Honda-san to go with him." Yuki stated, indignant at the accusation.  
  
Haru shrugged, "I don't know. You're the genius. You could have thought of something."  
  
"And why would we want to do that, stupid cow?! What's wrong with Tohru having lunch with a classmate anyway?" Kyou yelled defensively.  
  
Haru just smirked as he replied "Well, it would certainly have been more useful than just letting her go and then interrogating Momiji about what had happened afterwards like some overprotective boyfriend."  
  
Both Yuki and Kyou glared at Haru, although their cheeks were starting to get red, proving that Haru's statement had hit rather close to home.  
  
"Well, looks like there's nothing to be learned here after all." Shigure stood up and made his way towards the door. "this is boring. I'm going upstairs and sleep."  
  
Hatori stood up as well. "We should get going as well. Its getting late." The rabbit and the cow obeyed and followed the dragon towards the door. And since their so called meeting was obviously at an end, Yuki and Kyou got up as well.  
  
"Oyasumi Yuki, Kyou!!!" Momiji said, waving to the two Soumas who were grumbling as they headed up the stairs. "Oyasumi" Haru said as well. The two merely gave them a nod and disappeared upstairs.  
  
************************************************************************ Next Chapter: if this chapter is the "Meeting" , the next one is what I would like to call "The Plan" just wait for the next chapter and find out!!! *grins*  
  
AN: hope you liked this chapter Minna-san! The next chapter may take awhile, since I'm going to be rather busy this week. Lots of tests!!! *groans at the thought* wish me luck!!! 


	6. chapter 6

EDITED VERSION!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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AN: thanks so much minna for the reviews!!!! They are really very inspiring! This chapter is dedicated to all of you! Oh, and gomen for the previous chappies. I noticed that it was quite slow-paced. *bows again and again* gomen nasai!!! I didn't do it on purpose! I just typed away, and that's how the story came out! Please forgive my fingers!!! *bows again and again*  
  
Anyway, I hope I can make it up to you with this chapter. =)  
  
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- gomen! I completely didn't notice that I let Tohru hug Haru without having him transform! Eeep! Guess I got so into it that I just typed away and didn't notice much of anything! *looks sheepish* anyway, I made the TINY adjustment at the end of the chapter! Didn't really change anything, just made it more plausible. THANKS AGAIN!  
  
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-White's Day-  
  
Tohru blinked as the sun's rays hit her directly on the face. Wha.? It's so bright already, She immediately sat up "Oh my God! I overslept!!!!!" She scrambled off her bed and ran down the stairs towards the kitchen, fully intent on preparing breakfast immediately, only to be greeted by a sight that she didn't expect. Breakfast was at the table, all set. EH?!!   
  
"Ah, Honda-san, there you are. Have a seat." Yuki said, steering the confused girl towards her place at the table.  
  
The cat then emerged from the kitchen, carrying more food and laying them down. He was his usual gruff self, sending a nod at Tohru's direction as his way of greeting her "Ohayou". Then he sat down opposite from her, while Yuki sat on her left.  
  
Tohru blinked. What's going on? Kyou cooked breakfast, and Souma-kun is up early? The two boys with her seemed to act as if this was nothing out of the ordinary, and this confused Tohru even more.  
  
Yuki glanced at Tohru and saw that she wasn't eating. "Honda-san, you must eat or we'll be late for school."  
  
The simple statement caught Kyou's attention and he looked at Tohru as well, "Oi, I know I'm not that much of a cook, but I know its not that bad either. I'm not like kuso neezumi over here when it comes to cooking!" Kyou said, motioning his head towards the mouse.  
  
Yuki didn't even bother to reply to that remark, and instead chose to ignore the cat. Tohru, however got the wrong idea and thought that Kyou was insulted by her. "AAH!!! GOMENASAI KYOU-KUN! I was just thinking that's all! Of course Kyou's cooking is wonderful!" and as if to punctuate that statement, she took a huge spoonful of the soup near her and gulped it down. "OISHII!" she sent a smile in the cat's direction.  
  
Kyou was a bit taken aback by the way Tohru seemed to be shouting her every sentence. But merely attributing that to the girl's usual dose of over- enthusiasm, he just nodded and proceeded to eat his breakfast.  
  
When all three finished eating, (Shigure being his usual late-waking self) Tohru was just about to get up, fully intending to clean the table. But, another surprise was thrown her way. Yuki and Kyou beat her to the task, both silently standing up, clearing the dining table of the plates and proceeding quietly to the kitchen, with not a bicker or a glare thrown at the other's way. Now, Tohru was really confused. And so she followed them, with the purpose of asking them. And she was shocked at the sight that greeted her. Kyou was washing the dishes, and calmly passing them afterwards to Yuki who was also CALMLY drying them and placing them at a neat stack beside him. Now this was really strange. The cat and the mouse never got along at anything! And here they are washing and drying the dishes, TOGETHER!  
  
"Anou, Kyou-kun, Souma-kun, why are you doing my chores?" Tohru asked hesitantly, afraid of offending them.  
  
The two boys glanced at her, Yuki smiling as he answered her question. "Honda-san works too hard, and she just got injured last night. The least we could do is do some of her chores."  
  
"You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really!" She said, reddening slightly at that gallant remark.  
  
"No, Honda-san should rest today-" Yuki said, emphasizing the word today ever so slightly. He finished wiping the last dish with the cloth and he set them aside. "Don't mind us Honda-san, just go upstairs and get your things ready. We'll leave for school in a while." Yuki took the stack of the now clean plates and moved towards the cabinet where they kept their china.  
  
Tohru was bent on insisting that she do the work she was being "paid" (paid with food and lodging) to do, but before she could utter a word, she was suddenly dragged towards the stairs. She looked up and saw Kyou. The cat brought her upstairs, nudged her inside her room and disappeared to his own room. But not before telling her to get her things ready in his gruff voice.  
  
Tohru was in a state of shock, but nonetheless, she hurried and got her things ready. Her eyes, however, remained blank as she went about her task, her moves slightly sluggish, as if she was asleep. This was the way Yuki and Kyou found her as they entered her room to fetch her so they could all go to school. The two blinked when Tohru didn't even say anything to them, infact, she didn't seem to realize that they were there. Yuki slowly grasped her arm and shook it gently. "Honda-san, are you finished?"  
  
The girl jumped and whirled to face him. Yuki's eyes widened at this, confusion written all over his face at Tohru's weird response. "Honda-san, are you okay?" he asked, when Tohru just looked at him with her mouth hanging open.  
  
"AAHH! Gomen Souma-kun!" She blushed, "I spaced out for a bit." Tohru said sheepishly, embarrassed at her jumpy state. "I got startled." She finished lamely.  
  
Yuki smiled down at her, "aa. Its ok Honda-san. Shall we go?" Tohru blushed even deeper and nodded.  
  
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The three arrived at the school gates with much time to spare before the bell rang. Though it was usually their custom to separate ways before coming to class, this day, the two Soumas didn't leave Tohru's side. Tohru was, AGAIN, surprised by this, especially when Yuki and Kyou accompanied her all the way to their shoe lockers, and even more so when they went with her up to their classroom. But, though unexpected, the action delighted Tohru, who loved her friends dearly. And so she said nothing to them about this.  
  
But when Tohru arrived at her desk, another surprise was in store for her, though this time, it wasn't from either one of the Soumas. There was a huge bouquet of about 3 dozen roses of 2 different colors, red and white, at her desk. Her gasp was loud enough to draw the attention of many people in class, including Yuki and Kyou's, whose eyes widened at the sight. They glanced at each other, silently asking if the roses were from the other, but the shock plastered all over their faces was enough to confirm that the roses weren't from either of them. Their thoughts were frantically sorting through their lists of their male classmates, hoping to discover who sent the flowers to Tohru. But as they looked at the girl, who was already reaching for the card attached to the bouquet, the smirk on the face of the guy seated right behind her told them exactly who the sender was. Ryu Akamatsu. And at the moment, the said rival was already making his way towards Tohru.  
  
"Ohayou Honda-san" he said quietly. Tohru whirled around, "Akamatsu-kun!" she said breathlessly, though it was out of being startled rather than some romantic notion. "Did I startle you Honda-san?" a laugh "Gomen ne? I always seem to be making you jump lately." He grinned boyishly, making him look even more handsome. In fact, some of their female classmates swooned at the sight. Hanajima and Arisa on the other hand, had their mouths gaping open. Well, actually, only Arisa had her mouth open, Hanajima simply stood stock still. The act had a completely opposite effect on the males however. Most of the boys in class looked surprised that somebody like Ryu Akamatsu was actually interested in Honda Tohru. Sure, she was cute, kind and everything, but still, there were a lot more girls in school who were a lot prettier. But then again, she was the only girl to ever get close to Souma Yuki. So in the end, they shrugged it off. Some of the boys, however, had a more violent reaction, particularly two Souma boys. These two had their eyes narrowed at their so called rival, who they thought was too forward with their Tohru. (My, my! These two are getting possessive ne?). Fortunately, none of the other students in their class had noticed, but one did though, and his smirk grew even wider, infuriating Yuki and Kyou further.  
  
Ryu noticed the two Souma's glaring at him, and he delighted in it. He drew closer to his Tohru-chan and whispered in her ear "Happy White's day Honda- san." The girl blushed cutely, and to the corner of his eye, he saw the two Souma's clench their fists to their sides. Hah! Let them beat that!  
  
Tohru was finding it hard to breathe. Ryu Akamatsu was suave, handsome, bold, popular and way too much for a girl like her. She wasn't used to such attention. And getting a huge bouquet on White's day was a first. Most of her gifts on White's day came from the Souma's, this was the first time an outsider gave her a gift, and such a lavish one at that. "Arigatou Akamatsu-san. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu!" she said profusely. "They're really beautiful."  
  
"Aa, but not as beautiful as Honda-san." Came the reply, which made Tohru blush even more. She was looking down at her feet, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. She didn't know what to say to that statement. Unused to flattery, she wasn't a master at forming coquettish replies. But before she could mumble something out, the teacher arrived, forcing the students to let go of the spectacle and return to their seats.  
  
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All throughout class, Yuki couldn't concentrate. The image of Akamatsu leaning towards Tohru's ear made his hands clench. He was already glowering at his textbook, much to the consternation of his classmates. Their usually composed Prince was now looking as black as a storm.  
  
At the other side, Kyou's thoughts ran along similar lines, although for his part, he wasn't looking at his textbook, and so his glower was sent at the general direction of whoever happened to look his way. It didn't help that every time he looked at Tohru, he found the girl blushing still , glancing towards the back of the class every now and then. This made his glare so intense that nobody dared to look at him anymore, preferring to take down notes or stare at their books.  
  
Tohru was having a hard time listening to what their sensei was saying. Her first few attempts at writing down notes resulted in doodles of flowers. She tried to shake it off by glancing at Yuki and Kyou, but the two seemed preoccupied. Yuki was frowning at his textbook, while Kyou was frowning at everyone. Tohru didn't want to disturb them, and so she just concentrated again at her notes. This didn't work, and her failed attempts only made her sigh a few times or so. Her thoughts turned to Akamatsu Ryu, and she blushed. The roses had been lovely, but she didn't know why he gave them to her. She glanced towards the back of the class, as if attempting to decipher the reason by looking at the giver. She sighed again, though this time out of puzzlement. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't think of a reason why Akamatus-san would treat her so nicely. Again, a sigh.  
  
Ryu, as usual wasn't listening to the lecture. His gaze was directed at his beloved angel, who was now red in the face. He relished at the sight. His beloved was sighing every once in a while, and he mistakenly thought that it was because she was thinking about him. Well, it was true in a sense. Tohru was thinking about him, but the sighs weren't caused by romantic thoughts. But Ryu didn't know that, and so he kept on grinning.  
  
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The bell rang, and everybody rose to have lunch. Ryu was bent on asking Tohru to have lunch with him again. And so, armed with that purpose, he made his way through the mass of students towards his Tohru-chan. Yuki and Kyou at the other side of the class saw Ryu making his was towards Tohru, and acted fast. Without planning about it, the two intercepted the guy and arrived at Tohru's side before Ryu did, much to their surprise at finding the other there. But instead of glaring at each other, they silently acknowledged that they had to be united for now (no matter how much it was killing them!) against a rival. Desperate times called for desperate measures, both thought.  
  
Ryu's eyes widened at finding the Soumas already by Tohru's side when he arrived. But that didn't deter him, as was evident in the determined glint that came to his eyes. "Honda-san, would you like to have lunch again with me today?" he asked, staring at the two boys beside her as if to challenge them into action.  
  
Unfortunately for him, today, the two did accept the challenge. Yuki was the first to make the hit. "Gomen ne Akamatsu-kun, but Honda-san is having lunch with us today." Kyou was a bit surprised at the act which was uncharacteristic of Yuki, but he didn't show it. He'd be damned if he showed a sign of weakness to that Akamatsu.  
  
Ryu glanced sharply at Tohru, asking her silently for confirmation. Tohru herself looked quiet startled at the statement, but she did love having lunch with the two of her closest friends, and so she nodded, much to Ryu's dismay. "I'm sorry Akamatsu-kun." her voice trailed off at the disappointed look that came to Akamatsu's face. "That's okay Honda-san. Maybe tomorrow, then?"  
  
Before Tohru could reply, the next move was executed by Kyou, who steered her quickly towards the door, away from Ryu, stopping her from making any commitments for tomorrow. With a lot of work and even more luck, they could successfully pull this off and stamp out that bastard.  
  
Hanajima and Arisa followed the three out, fully interested on seeing what the two Soumas were up to. Hanajima stared at Ryu for awhile, thinking this is getting interesting.  
  
Ryu was left open-mouthed at Kyou's gesture that bordered on rudeness. But helpless to do anything for now with Tohru gone, he went off to find a substitute companion for lunch hour. With his looks, the task was easy, and soon, he had some gushing girl accompanying him to the cafeteria. Though the whole mood was a bit glum since Ryu took on sulking like a fish to water.  
  
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Tohru had an enjoyable lunch with her friends. The atmosphere was genial and cheerful, with Kyou and Yuki's bickering brought down to a minimum. Tohru thought the two were acting strangely, but she was not one to complain at such a blessing, no matter how puzzling it may be.  
  
"Oi, Orange-atama, what made you drag Tohru out of the classroom so quickly a while earlier?" Arisa said, smirking as she saw how her question made Kyou squirm a bit.  
  
"None of your business Yankee!" was the vehement retort.  
  
"Oh? It didn't look like nothing to me. You had this determined look on you." Hanajima quietly munched on her chips after saying this.  
  
Kyou bristled with irritation, but since Tohru was looking at him, waiting for his answer, he quickly made up an excuse, "I was hungry! She was lounging about, so I decided to hurry her up a bit."  
  
Arisa nodded, though her face showed that she didn't believe a single word. Hanajima's face was indecipherable. But Tohru, being her trusting self, quickly asked for forgiveness. "Gomen Kyou-kun! I didn't know you were already hungry! That was so thoughtless of me!!!" She ended in a near wail.  
  
Yuki calmed the distressed Tohru by saying "Don't mind baka neko. He's always hungry, and he's man enough to be able to stand hunger for a few minutes."  
  
Kyou would have wanted to challenge the rat then and there, but the distressed look Tohru was giving out stopped him. Ok Kyou, calm down. Today's a special day. You need to make Tohru happy. You can do this. It's only for a day, ONE day. He took a calming breath and merely settled for a glare sent in Yuki's direction.  
  
"Tohru-kun, what do you plan to do tonight?" Hanajima inquired, turning Tohru's attention away from the two Souma's silent battle.  
  
"Oh! I'm having dinner with Momiji-kun. It's his White's day gift to me!" Tohru said, clapping her hands excitedly.  
  
"Really? That's nice. And where is the little imp?" Arisa asked, delighted that her friend was having such an interesting day.  
  
"He and Haru are having a field trip today, so they can't join us right now. But they should be back later this afternoon." Yuki replied for her.  
  
"Ah. Too bad." Was all that the gang girl said.  
  
And lunch continued on without a hitch.  
  
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Class was at its usual boring pace, and when the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, the students were only too glad to pack their things up and go. Most scrambled for the door while the teacher called out last minute assignments. Tohru was busily stuffing her books into her bag, while Yuki and Kyou waited for her by the door. Arisa had already left since she had a part time job and still needed to catch the train. Hanajima had gone off too, saying she had promised her parents that she would baby sit her brother today.  
  
"Oi, hurry up will you?" Kyou grumbled.  
  
"Hai! Chotto matte kudasai. I'm almost done." Tohru scrambled to collect the rest of her things, including the huge bouquet of roses that Ryu had given her earlier, and made her way to her two friends.  
  
Yuki smiled down at her as she reached them, "here, let me carry those for you Honda-san, they look heavy" Yuki said, pointing out the numerous books on Tohru's arm. Without waiting for a reply, the mouse calmly took the heavy textbooks from the girl and carried them along with his own. Tohru opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and just settled for a blush. "Arigatou Yuki-kun." She said shyly. The two boys had been on their best behavior today. First they had surprised her during the morning by doing her chores, then at lunch they hardly bickered, and now Yuki was carrying her things. They've been nothing but gallant and kind, and Tohru was all too ready to sing their praises, if she only had the guts to do so.  
  
Not to be outdone by his rival, Kyou reached for Tohru's bag and without even asking, took it and carried it himself. Upon seeing the surprised look on Tohru's face, he quietly mumbled, "with that huge thing you're carrying- " he pointed to the bouquet on Tohru's arm, "you're bound to drop something sooner or later."  
  
"Arigatou! Kyou-kun is so thoughtful!" Tohru exclaimed.  
  
They rounded the corner and were just about to proceed to the gates of the school, when a shout from behind them drew their attention.  
  
"SOUMA-KUN!" they glanced behind them and saw a member of the student council waving at them, trying to catch their attention. They stopped and waited for the guy to catch up with them.  
  
"Nani? Did you want something sempai?" Yuki politely inquired.  
  
*Huff* "We." *huff* "have.a..." *huff* the boy was obviously out of breath, Yuki took pity on him, "Sempai, please take a breather first. I can wait."  
  
The boy threw Yuki a look of gratitude and caught his breath. After a few seconds, and a lot of deep gulps of air, "Souma-kun, I'm so sorry to bother you, but we have a council meeting today."  
  
A look of disappointment flashed across Yuki's face for a few unnoticeable milliseconds, before he hurriedly covered it up with his usual smile. "Sou ka. Well, thank you for informing me sempai." He said, sounding convincingly grateful, although he really felt like shouting in frustration. He had so wanted to go and walk home with Honda-san today. Partly to make sure that Ryu didn't go about and bother her. But he really had no choice. He was a part of the student council and he had a responsibility. He took a bit of consolation on the fact that Kyou was with her, and knowing that the cat felt the same way as he did, Ryu wasn't going to get a chance with Tohru today.  
  
"Gomen Honda-san, but I guess I won't be able to walk home with you today. Why don't you and baka neko go ahead? I'll see you later." And with that he walked off to the meeting.  
  
Tohru and Kyou continued their trek towards home in silence. But they had just reached the school gates when somebody they didn't expect showed up.  
  
"KYOU-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a cloud of dust was coming their way, fast! Kyou saw the whirlwind get nearer and knew immediately who it was. He quickly turned to Tohru and mumbled a quick " I have to go now, I'll just see you at home" before he ran as fast as he could at the opposite direction. Tohru just looked on with amazement as Kagura chased poor Kyou with a vengeance. "KYOU!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!"  
  
Tohru sweatdropped. guess I'm walking home alone today. she thought with a small sigh.  
  
A tap on her shoulder made her glance behind her, and a handsome smiling face greeted her. "All alone Honda-san? What happened to your two. uh. friends?" Ryu said, deliberately making the pause before saying the word 'friends'.  
  
"Yuki-kun had to attend a council meeting, and Kyou-kun had some place to go to."  
  
"Oh? And they left you all alone to go home by yourself?"  
  
"AAh! Iya, its not like that." Tohru began her defense of her friends, but before she could even say another word, Ryu interrupted her. "No matter. Their loss is my gain I guess. I'll take you home Honda-san. I have my car out front" he said, already pulling Tohru along. "Demo." Tohru was beginning to panic, eep! What am I going to do? I can't very well tell him that I live with the Soumas! she was stalling as best she could, by walking slowly, but in her state of nervousness, her mind went completely blank and she couldn't think of any excuse to give Ryu. And just as she was about to lose hope, her savior arrived, in the form of a rider in a huge black motorcycle.  
  
Haru had just gotten on his bike when he saw Tohru with that Akamatsu guy. Where the hell are Yuki and Kyou? This is the second time they've left her with that person! Haru thought, completely confounded. He made his way closer, and soon saw the panicky expression on Tohru's face. Ahh. guess I'll have to help out. Yuki's going to be so proud. Haru thought with a smirk. Quickly, he rolled his bike to a stop before the "couple", noting with amusement the shock that quickly turned to irritation on Ryu's face.  
  
"Tohru, need a ride? Momiji just left with Hatori, rambling excitedly about your date tonight. You don't want to be late do you?" he asked quietly.  
  
Relief flooded Tohru's every being, after the initial shock wore off that is. "Hatsuharu-kun! Ah, yes! Umm.. that is if you don't mind.."  
  
Ryu was just about to contradict that statement, when Haru, sensing that that was his intention, quickly answered Tohru. "Aa. Its no problem at all. Hop on." He said, patting the space behind him.  
  
"Wait a minute, I'm going to take Honda-san home." Ryu protested.  
  
"I'm sure you don't want to be inconvenienced by it. I pass by her house on the way home, so its no trouble for me to just drop her off." Haru said calmly, further annoying Ryu.  
  
"He's right Akamatsu-san. I don't want to bother you. I'll just have Hatsuharu-kun drop me off." Tohru said, hoping she wasn't offending Ryu, but left with no choice since she couldn't let him know where she was staying.  
  
Finally accepting defeat, Ryu heaved a sigh, and begrudgingly nodded. "fine. I'll see you tomorrow then Honda-san."  
  
"Hai! Ja ne, Akamatsu-san!" Tohru said with one final wave, before she climbed behind Haru.  
  
"hold on tight Tohru." Haru told her, already taking Tohru's arms and encircling them around his waist, but of course he took the precaution of placing his bag between them so that he won't transform. "otherwise you'll fall of"  
  
Tohru nodded. This was her first time to ride a motorcycle, much less a huge one like this. And honestly, she was a bit scared. And so she held on and hugged Hatsuharu tight, the bag on her chest was a bit uncomfortable, but hey, its better than falling off. Haru, satisfied by the gaping expression on Ryu's face, kicked off and blazed away, smirking at Ryu's mortified look at seeing Tohru hugging him so tightly.  
  
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Next: the race for Tohru begins! *grins* hey, do you still want to hear about Tohru and Momiji's date? I don't plan on writing about it anymore since it really isn't that significant to the plot. But if you really want it, I'll try. Just tell me. Ok?  
  
AN: this chappy is a bit longer than the others. I don't know what came over me, but my fingers just won't stop typing! *grins* hope you enjoyed it though. and I hope I wasn't dragging it along with too much words!. *smiles* thanks again!  
  
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- is it more believable now? *grins* gomen again! And thanks for the warning shawna-san, merryday-san! Oh, and shawna-san, lets just say that I got Haru a huge bike for the sake of the plot. It would certainly make him look cool! Minna please help me with this ficcy. Sometimes I get so into the story that I can't keep track of what I type anymore. *grins* heh heh. gomen *bonks herself on the head*  
  
Oh, and to silvercross, thanks so much! To answer your question, I didn't do it on purpose, the Yuki-kun and Souma-kun thing. Heh heh. *slaps her forehead* gomen. I'm getting too absent-minded these days. Again, thanks for all the reminders minna! I truly appreciate it! 


	7. chapter 7

AN: Sorry this chappy took so long to get uploaded. I was a bit busy with school. Our teachers felt like they had to cram every bit of homework and quizzes into the one week we had left before Christmas break. Its awful! *groans* but enough about me. I have one important announcement to make:  
  
ATTENTION: I HAVE A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ALL OF YOU! PLEASE GO TO www.geocities.com/piggys_world AND GET YOUR GIFT THERE. I set up a "mock" website and posted all the Furuba wallpapers that I made there. I made those especially for all of you. Thanks so much for reading my fic! I truly appreciate it! You've made fic writing so much fun!!!! Just go to that website and click "enter piggy's world".  
  
THANKS AGAIN AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! I HOPE YOU'LL LIKE THIS CHAPTER! ^_^  
  
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Tohru went to her closet and gave her meager wardrobe a look. *sigh* what am I going to wear tonight? Momiji-kun is going to take me to some fancy restaurant and I don't have anything suitable to wear! Tohru thought dejectedly.  
  
The cow had dropped her off earlier and had told her to be ready by 7:00pm, Momiji would pick her up by then. She had been so happy, until she realized that her closet didn't have anything that suited the occasion.  
  
She was still engrossed by her thoughts when a knock came to her door. "Tohru-kun, may I come in?"  
  
"Shigure-san! Hai!" Tohru ran to her door and opened it, revealing the grinning face of Shigure. "Tohru-kun! I have something for you!!!" the dog cried out in his goofy voice. He stepped inside, with his hands were behind his back, hiding something from Tohru's view.  
  
"Really Shigure-san?" Tohru asked, the thought of getting a present from the author lifted her somber mood somewhat.  
  
"Hai! And here it is!!!" Shigure pulled something long and white out from behind his back. The material was flowy, and looked very delicate. At first, Tohru didn't know what it was, but as the dog held the gift before her long enough, she realized that it was a dress! A short and simple, but very elegant white dress. Its length was just enough to reach her knees if she wore it, and the top had the looks of a corset. There were no frilly bows, or extravagant laces, just a simply cut tube top, with a flowy skirt attached to it. Simple.. White.. Elegant.. AND OH SO EXPENSIVE!  
  
"Oh Shigure-san, that dress looks awesome, but I can't possibly accept it!" Tohru cried.  
  
Shigure looked taken aback, "why not?" he asked.  
  
"because it looks so expensive! You've done so much for me already!"  
  
"Oh, is that all?-" the dog laughed happily, "think nothing of it Tohru- kun! And you have to accept it! I had it made especially for you." Shigure said, already beginning his puppy-dog look "Aya-san had placed all his effort into this, and I've set my heart at seeing it on you-" he began pouting his lips at this point "you don't want us to get sad do you?" he finished, with fake tears falling from his eyes.  
  
He hit her weak point. Tohru hated seeing anyone sad, and she really didn't like to disappoint anyone. Shigure knew this and played her weakness like a master. Whining was one of the author's many talents.  
  
"Of course not Shigure-san!" Tohru replied immediately, completely taken in by the act Shigure was putting on. "this is so nice! Of course I'll wear it. And tell Ayame-san that I thank you both from the bottom of my heart"  
  
"Aya-san is going to be so happy! And you've made this old dog's heart happy too Tohru-kun" Shigure shoved the dress into her hands and quickly babbled on "now you go and finish readying up! I want to see that dress on you immediately. And you don't want to keep Momichi waiting do you?" and with that, the jolly author skipped giddily to his room, singing something about highschool girls in flowy dresses.  
  
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6:45pm  
  
Sohma Yuki had just arrived at the house. "Tadaima!" he cried out to nobody in particular. But the only thing that greeted him was silence. That's odd. Where's Honda-san? She usually greets me back he took off his shoes and went inside. He looked around, the place was eerily quiet. hell! Where's that hentai anyway? And the baka neko? Had they left somewhere and didn't tell me? Yuki was beginning to get irritated. He had just run all the way from school just to get here in time for dinner and no one's here.  
  
Just then, the door behind him opened, and Kyou yelled out "Tadaima". Yuki whirled around, "Oi baka neko! I thought you were with Tohru." Yuki trailed off as he saw a slight flush beginning at Kyou's neck, just around the collar. why's the neko blushing?!? Yuki thought.  
  
Kyou glared at the mouse, "Kagura was there at the school gates when Tohru and I came out. I had no choice but to-"  
  
"To run like the coward that you are." Yuki finished for him. This earned him another glare from the cat, but he just smirked at his long time rival. "and so you took Honda-san with you in your senseless running."  
  
"NO! of course not! Tohru has enough to do as it is. I don't want her to drain her strength. And besides, she would only slow me down." Kyou retorted.  
  
"WHAT?!!!! YOU LEFT HONDA-SAN ALL ALONE?!!!!!! WHAT IF AKAMATSU HAD GOTTEN HOLD OF HER?!" the mouse screamed, "What were you thinking?!" by the time he said this, Yuki was already frantically going about every room at the bottom level of the house. "I don't think she has come home yet!" Kyou was alarmed by this and decided to go up and check the upper floors. what could have happened to her?! Kyou thought with panic, his imagination already running through various unpleasant scenes, none of which were really possible, much less probable. But just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, his eyes caught something white at the top. And then.he skidded to a stop.  
  
Yuki came bursting around the corner since he didn't find Tohru in the kitchen or in any of the rooms down below. He was all too ready to join the cat in the search upstairs, when he saw Kyou frozen at the tip of the stairs. "Oi ahou! What are you doing lounging about?! We have to find Honda- san." Yuki took Kyou by the shoulders and started shaking him, when the sound of footsteps drew his eyes upward. And Yuki stopped breathing.  
  
Tohru was descending down the stairs, in her complete ensemble. And with the combined effect of the long, flimsy white dress, and her chestnut hair tumbling like waves over her shoulders, Tohru looked like a vision.  
  
But the "vision" currently had a bewildered expression on her face at seeing her two friends, locked in a deathgrip with each other, frozen at the bottom of the stairs. Ara? "Eto. What are Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun doing?" she asked hesitantly, afraid to venture into the tension-filled zone in which the two seemed to be in.  
  
The sound of her voice shook the two boys out of their stupor. Embarrassed at being caught in such an awkward situation, Kyou immediately looked away to the side, while Yuki merely smiled at Tohru in the hopes of covering up his embarrassment at being caught gaping at her. "Honda-san looks very pretty. Where are you off to?" Yuki asked.  
  
Tohru went down the last 5 steps and joined the two. "Momiji-kun is going to take me to a restaurant tonight, remember? Its his white's day gift." Tohru replied, smiling happily.  
  
"Ah! Sou ka! I forgot about that." Yuki smiled apologetically, "well, I hope that Honda-san will have a good time tonight." He babbled on.  
  
"TOHRU-KUN!" The "shriek" drew everyone's attention back upstairs. And what they saw spurred them into different acts. Kyou went in front of Tohru with his arms stretched wide to protect her. While Yuki grabbed the startled girl and pulled her backwards.  
  
Shigure was flying towards them at breakneck speed, with his arms stretched out before him, "TOHRU-KUN LOOKS SO KAWAII!!!!" The author made a lunge to hug Tohru, but saw Kyou too late. His eyes widened and he braced himself for the impact.  
  
But Kyou, who had seen Shigure and had already anticipated his move, smoothly stepped aside with a grace borne out of years of practice in martial arts. And just as the dog came within striking distance, he brought down his fist down upon the head of the helpless author. *WHAM!!!!*  
  
Shigure's body slammed down the floor with a loud thud. Tohru, hearing the awful sound, winced. Poor Shigure-san! she thought, but when she glanced at Yuki however, the mouse just looked calm, although there was this glint that came to his eyes. Tohru thought she heard him mutter something like "serves that hentai right", but it was said so quietly that she thought she must have imagined it.  
  
"Itai!! Why did you do that Kyou-kun? I merely wanted to hug Tohru-kun because she looked so pretty! I was the one who gave her that dress you know! I should at least get to hug her." Shigure said, pouting, he then turned to his only ally in the room "Tohru-kun, Kyou-kun hurt me! Tell these two that I was the one who gave you that dress." He implored, already turning his "puppy-dog-eyes" to full power.  
  
Tohru was just about to rush to the defense of the author lying in a heap at their feet, when Yuki butted in. "It doesn't mean that if you were the one who gave her the dress that you're automatically permitted to hug her!"  
  
"Hug her? What do you mean Yuki? Who's going to hug To-ru?" a voice said from behind them. Tohru peeked around Yuki and saw Momiji standing there, looking puzzled.  
  
"MOMIJI-KUN! You look so handsome!" Tohru exclaimed. And it was true. Momiji was decked out in full glory tonight. Wearing a three-piece charcoal gray suit, with his hair combed back neatly, he looked drop-dead gorgeous. And when he smiled in response to Tohru's statement, he looked even more handsome. Tohru couldn't believe this was the same childish person who had asked her out in a mock "date". Tohru couldn't do anything but simply state at him. This caused Yuki and Kyou to frown slightly. But soon, they caught themselves and felt foolish. What am I thinking?! I'm actually getting jealous over Momiji? Yuki thought. AARGH! I actually thought of the rabbit as "competition"! I must be going crazy!" Kyou mentally slapped himself.  
  
"Arigatou To-ru!" Momiji said in his sing-song voice, breaking the momentary spell he had cast on Tohru. Hearing his usual high-pitched voice had reminded her that this was indeed the same old Momiji-cheerful, perky, and childlike.  
  
"So shall we go Hime-sama?" Momiji offered his arm to Tohru, inclining his head towards the front door. "Hai!" Tohru linked her arm with Momiji's and the two went out.  
  
"Bye bye Tohru-kun! Don't come home late! I'll be all alone in my bed! Join me later!" Shigure cried out from his position on the floor, and then... *WHACK! WHACK* Yuki and Kyou walked away in separate directions, each rubbing his knuckles from its previous contact with a certain author's head.  
  
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The limousine Momiji had brought with him took them to the restaurant. It was a new one, built with an architectural design of the Japanese structures during the Tokugawa era. It was huge, and it looked breathtaking. Tohru was so nervous upon entering, afraid that she might commit some social taboo and embarrass herself. But Momiji's babbling presence at her side eased her anxieties somewhat, and soon, she was able to completely relax and enjoy her evening.  
  
"Ne To-ru, this place is neat ne?!" Momiji said excitedly. "I hear that the sushi here is great! I'm going to have lots of sushi!" They had been led to a table that, Tohru later found out, was earlier reserved by Momiji. It was located beside the windows, offering a spectacular view of the city.  
  
The waiter arrived and took their orders. Tohru let Momiji do the ordering since she didn't know what was good or not in the menu. But of course, Momiji being Momiji, ordered almost all of the food on the menu. When Tohru asked him how they would finish all of those, with there only being the two of them, the bunny merely smiled and told her not to worry, and that they would just have the rest wrapped in a doggy bag and let Shigure and the others eat it when they get home.  
  
While waiting for their orders to arrive, Momiji proceeded in pointing out various lights in the city and naming the place that they were located. He pointed at building-tops, skyscrapers, and communications towers. The rabbit was just so cheerful while doing it that the act, which would have been dull, was made interesting and enjoyable.  
  
Then their meals arrived, and the two ate in companionable conversation.  
  
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Ryu had been driving around the city, hoping to ease his boredom and frustrations earlier that day. He had planned on surprising his Tohru-chan with another gift sent directly to her house. But that damn punk with the bi-colored hair had intervened and sent his plans down the drain. He couldn't find out where Tohru lived since he wasn't able to give her a lift home and thus discover her address.  
  
He passed by the new restaurant and thought about eating there, just for the heck of it. Money was not a problem to him, and he could afford to eat in an expensive restaurant just on whim. Nah. Too tedious. I don't have the patience tonight to wait around for my meal to arrive. I'll just have the cook fix me something up later when I get home. and then, something caught his gaze and held it. IT WAS HIS TOHRU-CHAN! And in the arms of that stupid whiny brat! He remembered that incident in the school cafeteria when that kid had usurped him and asked his Tohru-chan for a date!  
  
Wait a minute! If I wait out here, I may be able to follow them home when they leave! And then I'll be able to send my gift tomorrow and surprise her! Better late than never. he thought. He really didn't have any bad intentions. He just wanted to find out where his Tohru-chan lives.  
  
The growling of his stomach however told him that he needed to get a bite to eat first since he was going to be staying out long. And so he went to a nearby stall and bought some ramen.  
  
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Hatori had taken Hiro and Kisa out to buy some late night ice cream. A treat to them since both kids had been behaving well during their monthly check-up.  
  
"Can we visit onee-chan after this?" Kisa asked timidly. Hatori was a great doctor and everything, but Kisa still gets intimidated by him. And his stoic face really doesn't help ease her fears.  
  
Hiro, who was always Kisa's strongest supporter, looked at Hatori, silently demanding the doctor for an answer.  
  
"We can't. She's with Momiji tonight. They're eating dinner at the new Japanese restaurant just down the street." The doctor replied. The bunny had been rattling to him all afternoon about his plans for his "date" with Tohru. Hatori had gotten enough of an earful to be able to know the general outline of tonight's activities.  
  
"Oh." Kisa looked crestfallen. And of course, Hiro tried to cheer her up. "Hatori, why don't we stop over at the restaurant after getting the ice cream? Its just up ahead. and I'm sure Onee-san would be happy to see Kisa." His normally sharp voice was tuned down a bit, since this was Hatori he was speaking to. He might be able to get away with his sarcasm with the other Juunishi members, but Hatori might not be so lenient. Hiro decided to play safe and just ask nicely.  
  
The dragon stayed silent for what seemed like eternity to the two kids beside him. Then, after a few more minutes, "We'll only stay for a few minutes. I have to get you two home before your bedtime."  
  
Hiro smirked, and Kisa's normally shy face brightened up so much that the corners of Hatori's mouth turned up just a bit, showing the barest hint of a smile.  
  
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Tohru had a delightful time. Momiji was great company, he had an endless store of stories, most of which were about the Juunishi members. And Tohru was glad for the additional information about her new "family". But, like they say, time flies when you're having fun. And sooner than they expected, both were full and dinner was over. Momiji called over a waiter and asked for the bill. Tohru got a bit of a surprise, however, when the bunny pulled out a gold credit card. She thought the bunny was too young to have that. And then she remembered that Momiji was only a year younger than her. Because of the rabbit's childish disposition, it was easy to forget his real age.  
  
"Ikimashou To-ru!" Momiji said as he got up from his seat and gallantly pulled Tohru's chair to help her get up.  
  
"Arigatou Momiji-kun! This is the best white's day gift ever!"  
  
"Eh?! Hontou? Ah!!! Yokatta!!!" Momiji's loud exclamation brought a couple of heads swirling in their direction. To which the rabbit merely laughed off cutely, earning him the apology of whoever had been startled by his outburst.  
  
"Then next year, I'm going to take you somewhere even nicer!" Momiji promised, as he carefully led Tohru back outside to the limousine waiting out front. And, like he had been all evening, Momiji gallantly opened the car door for Tohru and both sped away for Shigure's house.  
  
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Meanwhile, Ryu had just had about enough of the waiting. He was just about to impulsively go in the restaurant and just ask his Tohru-chan directly about her address, when he was saved from having to embarrass himself when Tohru and her "date" came out. He quickly got inside his car and waited until the car sped away at some distance so that he could follow them discreetly.  
  
He had just backed away from his parking space to start trailing the limo when something hit his bumper lightly and a cry filled the air. He let out an irritated sigh GREAT! Now what?! he thought angrily, then went out to the front of the car to check out the situation.  
  
He found three people there. A kid was sitting on the ground clutching her ankle with a pained expression on her face. A boy was right beside her, asking if she was alright, and then alternating between murmuring assurances to her and yelling at "the drunken driver who hurt his Kisa". Then, there was an adult beside these two, who was now kneeling beside the fallen girl, holding her ankle and checking it for broken bones.  
  
When Ryu approached them, the boy immediately attacked him. Not physically of course, but verbally. "You know, we could sue your butt off for drunken driving! You can't get away with this you know! Who do you think you are anyway? Running over people. Aren't the street lights enough for you? Huh? Or maybe you're blind?........" and he would have continued if Ryu, who was not the most patient of people, hadn't placed his palm over the boy's mouth to shut him up.  
  
This only enraged the boy further. He tore Ryu's palm from his mouth and resumed his screaming with a vengeance. "Hey! That could be taken for physical assault! I'm going to report you and call our lawyers and sue you for all you're worth!!!!"  
  
Fortunately, the adult stepped in. "Hiro, stop." And to Ryu's disbelief, the boy shut up in mid-sentence immediately. "Now can you give me your name? This situation is really not that serious, but still, we would like to have your name and contact number just incase something comes up." And though the statement was said calmly, it had the effect of a shout. Ryu didn't want to admit it, but this man was very intimidating. His poker- faced expression wouldn't tell Ryu if he was angry or merely indifferent.  
  
"Uh. its Ryu Akamatsu." He finally blurted out. He thought he saw a startled look cross the man's features for a moment, but it came and went so quickly that he wasn't sure.  
  
"and your phone number?"  
  
Ryu fished for his wallet from his pockets and got out a calling card. He gave it to the stone-faced man and hoped that this would end the discussion. He was anxious to follow his Tohru-chan. Although at this rate, she was probably long gone already.  
  
The man nodded. "Let's go. We have to get you home and treat Kisa's ankle. Its already starting to swell." As he said the last part, he looked at Ryu pointedly. Then he helped the girl stand up and all three went across the street where a black car was parked. They got in and drove off.  
  
Glad that's over! Ryu thought. But as he looked up the road, he could no longer find the limousine that his Tohru-chan was on. Damn! Guess I'll just have to head for home.  
  
He got in his car and headed home as well.  
  
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Hatori was driving Kisa and Hiro home when his mind drifted back to tonight's events.  
  
Hatori, Hiro and Kisa had just come out of the grocery store with a tub of chocolate ice cream. They were just crossing the street to go into the restaurant and join Momiji and Tohru when a car that they didn't notice came out of its parking space and bumped into Kisa. The girl, being small of build, fell to the ground despite the very slight force behind the car.  
  
Of course, as was everything else in their life, the situation got out of hand. Hiro, overprotective of Kisa, started yelling out threats. Hatori had to step in otherwise it would have resulted to a full-blown disaster.  
  
He really didn't think Kisa's injury was that serious, but he felt that he needed to teach the kid some caution, and so, to scare him a bit, he asked for the name and phone number, making the situation sound more serious than it really was.  
  
But he was the one who got shocked over the encounter. The kid said his name was Ryu Akamatsu. That was the name of the guy Momiji and the others were talking about. The one who was interested in Tohru. And as they headed for home (they couldn't go see Tohru and Momiji anymore since he needed to treat Kisa's injury first), Hatori couldn't help but wonder how Yuki and the others would react to this tiny incident tonight. This should prove interesting.  
  
And as he drove on, Hatori smiled.  
  
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Next Chapter: Ryu asks Tohru out for a date! What'll the Juunishi do????? *grins* read the next chappy and find out!  
  
AN: so, was this chapter ok? Tell me if I have any inconsistencies, and I'll edit the chapter immediately! Sorry I wasn't able to focus so much on Tohru and Momiji. I didn't know what to do with them. *looks sheepish* gomen! As for those suggestions of Ryu trying to sabotage the date and Kyou and Yuki working behind the scenes to stop him, well, I have other plans for that. *grins* You'll find out what somewhere along the next chapters of this fic. THANKS AGAIN MINNA! AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!!!!! 


	8. the real chapter 8!

AN: well, chapter 8 is finally finished!!!!! I finished it!!!!! *jumps around* I still have 3 more exams next week, but they'll have to wait! This fic has been postponed long enough. And besides, writing helps me relax. Hee hee..  
  
Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
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A week has passed and nothing eventful has happened ever since that incident outside the restaurant. When Hatori had told them that night about what had happened, they all had been shocked, though inside, the cat and the mouse gave a small whoop for the tiny misfortune that had fallen upon their so called rival. Tohru had looked worried, and that sent a slight dent on their euphoria, but they later shrugged it off. Tohru was always worried about everyone. It wouldn't do to read much into it. She was just that way, and its one of her most appealing traits.  
  
And now a week has passed without a single peep from Ryu. Yuki and Kyou had been surprised, but grateful, that Ryu Akamatsu hasn't been up to his usual tricks. Although the action did seem suspicious, and it leaves them wary of what may come next. Is Ryu planning something? Is that why he's not doing anything lately, because he's getting ready for a master plan? But no matter how hard they speculate, answers were never found, and so they decided to leave the matter be and just stay on guard for any surprises that may come their way.  
  
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Class was at its usual boring pace, with the sensei droning on and on about historical facts that nobody cared to learn.  
  
"In December 1866, Emperor Komei, an ardent supporter of the Bakufu government, passed away, and the Emperor Meiji ascended to the throne. November 8 the next year.."  
  
At his seat at the back of the class, Ryu stared longingly at his angel. It has been a week since he had had a long conversation with her. Lately, he had been reduced to mere greetings of hello as they crossed paths in school. He missed her and he would have liked nothing better than to have lunch with her again. Be it in a cafeteria or in a restaurant. But he has no choice in the situation he's in. He's grounded, given the ultimatum that he is to go straight home after school.  
  
This sucks! Damn my old man for doing this to me! This punishment is so corny. Imagine, ME! GROUNDED!!! he sulked and fumed, gripping the pen in his hand tightly.  
  
His mind drifted back to the events that lead to his current predicament.  
  
"Tadaima" he said to what he had expected to be an empty house. After all, for all the years that he has spent in this house, all that ever greeted him was space and emptiness. His parents were always away, leaving him to his own devices, just sending him gifts and messages every now and then. He, of course like any normal person, resented this at first, but then, as years went by and nothing changed, he adjusted and got used to it. He even saw the benefits of such an arrangement. He was free to do anything he wanted, just as long as it wasn't scandalous or something that would drag the "family name" in mud. He got into trouble often, most of time with the school, but these were nothing. Easily handled by his father's secretary. And soon, he got into the routine of it, landing himself in trouble, with his father, indirectly, bailing him out. Piece of cake.  
  
But tonight was different. After his routinary greeting of "I'm home", instead of the usual silence that he had come to expect, a cold deadpan voice greeted him back. "Okaeri". Startled, he looked for the source of the voice, and found his father seated in their large parlor, drinking what looked like a glass of whisky.  
  
"Tou-san, you're home. And kaa-san?"  
  
"She's upstairs, sleeping. Our flight was tiring, she's drained from all her shopping in Milan." His father replied, taking a sip from his glass.  
  
"And you'll be staying for how long this time?"  
  
"We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. Now enough with the questions. What's this I hear about you running over a member of the Sohma family yesterday?" His father's voice had gotten colder by the time he finished the question.  
  
Ryu gulped. He rarely got scared of anything. And little intimidated him. But his father was the exception. If there was anything that Ryu feared, it was his father's wrath. His father controlled the family's purse strings, and he who controls the money, controls the family. That's the way it has always been in the Akamatsu household.  
  
"I didn't "run over" anything. It was an accident, I just bumped the girl a little. There really wasn't much damage."  
  
"Not much damage?! Your having bumped her, as you so conveniently put it, is damage enough! Do you know how influential that family is around here? A "bump" is enough for them to press charges! You're lucky that they didn't think of suing! If they did, the press would have had a field day!!!"  
  
Ryu simply stayed silent, eyes cast down. Infact, he really couldn't say anything. His father rarely let anything faze him, but when it comes to the "family honor", then he gets all worked up. And when his father was in this kind of mood, it was best to keep your mouth shut.  
  
"You'd better get your act together Ryu. But to make sure that you remember this folly and not do it again, I'm going to have to restrict you to the house for a week. Which means you're to come straight home right after school. To ensure that you keep your end of this arrangement, I'm going to ask Henri to keep an eye on you and check if you're home 30 minutes after your classes are supposed to end. 30 minutes should be enough time for you to get home from school."  
  
Ryu wanted to shout, but he couldn't. He wanted to rave that being grounded was unfair! What happened was an accident, and it had been a paltry one at that. Nothing that would merit this! But, he couldn't do anything. His father's word was law in this house, no matter what Ryu's preference may be.  
  
And now, sitting here in the classroom, with his angel only a few seats away from him, he got angrier at the predicament forced upon him. a week!!! I've been grounded for a week!!! he seethed. but no matter, today's the last day of my punishment. I should be able to take Tohru-chan out tomorrow. the thought lifted his mood somewhat. And a change in his expression was noticeable as he made his plans for tomorrow.  
  
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The bell rang, and students scrambled to get up. The teacher made a few last minute announcements, homeworks, etc. But of course, it fell on deaf ears. Today is Friday (do Japanese students have Saturdays off?), which means that class officially ends now for the week.  
  
Tohru carefully placed her things inside her bag. She glanced up and saw that Uo-chan and Hana-chan were waiting for her, their bags slung over their shoulders. She hastened her movements, not wanting to make her friends wait.  
  
"So, do you have work today Tohru?" Arisa asked.  
  
"No. I have today off, but tomorrow I have to go to work."  
  
"That's great Tohru-kun. Now you can come with us. we're going to a café and grab something to eat." Hanajima said, with as much enthusiasm as she could. Which means, for Hanajima, that she had uttered the sentence just a tad bit louder than usual.  
  
"Yup! Hanajima here is going to buy us some snacks!" Arisa piped in.  
  
"That sounds great! I get to spend some time with my two closest friends." Tohru said, clapping her hands in the process. It was all well and good, because Yuki and Kyou weren't walking home with her today. Kyou had already left, saying he had to go visit his shishou. Yuki had mentioned something about doing something for the Student Council.  
  
The trio chatted while heading towards the school gate. And so engrossed were they with their conversation that they failed to notice the figure waiting for them just up ahead.  
  
"Honda-san!"  
  
Tohru looked around, trying to find the owner of the voice.  
  
"Over here!" a figure gave them a wave before walking up to them. It was Ryu.  
  
"Honda-san, I'm glad I caught up with you."  
  
"Konnichiwa Akamatsu-san" Tohru greeted cheerfully. Which made Ryu smile.  
  
Arisa and Hanajima just looked on, eager to find out what's going to happen. But, unfortunately, their plans were ruined when Ryu said,  
  
"Can I talk to you privately Honda-san?"  
  
"Privately?....." Tohru's curiousity was getting piqued. "Uh. sure." She walked a few steps away from her friends, who seeing her move, also backed away from the pair and just decided to wait over by the tree nearby.  
  
"What is it Akamatsu-san?" Tohru cocked her head to the side.  
  
"Are you free tomorrow evening? I would like to invite you to dinner, and then maybe to a movie afterwards." Ryu inquired, without the least bit of hesitation. He wasn't some untried youth who stuttered and gawked when asking the one he liked (i think love is too strong a word) to a date. He was confident, calm and smooth. Though, considering his experience at this and his popularity with the opposite sex, his attitude wasn't surprising.  
  
"Dinner?.... Movie?.... !!!" Tohru squeaked. "But . uh.. You see. I have a part-time job tomorrow evening."  
  
Damn! Ryu thought, but still determined to go out with his beloved angel, he pushed on. "How about lunch then?" Dinner would have been more romantic, but this'll have to do.  
  
Tohru was a bit nervous. This was the first time somebody asked her out. Momiji didn't count since he was almost like family to her. "Uh. ok."  
  
"Great! Where can I pick you up?" Ryu shouted a mental 'Whoop'. Finally! A date with his Tohru-chan! Things were finally brightening up.  
  
Now Tohru was definitely panicking. She can't have Ryu pick her up at the Sohma residence! Her mind frantically searched for a way out, and then..  
  
"Tohru's going with us somewhere tomorrow morning. So wouldn't it be better if she were to just meet you somewhere? It would certainly be more convenient for her" Hanajima said, totally unabashed at 'indirectly' admitting that they had infact been eavesdropping at the supposedly private conversation.  
  
"That would be fine. Just meet me outside the Akabeko at, say, 11:30am?"  
  
"Nice choice Akamatsu" Arisa interjected. The Akabeko was one of the popular restaurants around. Not really fancy, but still expensive. The ambiance was supposedly unique. At least that's what Arisa heard from people since she didn't really frequent restaurants of any kind. Ryu seemed taken aback by the comment. He wasn't used to people talking to him that way, most students addressed him with either awe or, to those who were envious of his good fortune, with contempt. Rarely did anybody speak to him so. casually, impertinently. He glanced at Hanajima and saw that the girl was staring at him with her usual deadpan look. Again, nothing reverent or special was in that gaze. He wasn't expecting those kinds of reactions. But he shrugged it off, thinking that his Tohru-chan's friends were certainly different.  
  
"Ja then Honda-san! I'll see you tomorrow." With a wave he went off towards his car.  
  
Arisa and Hanajima followed his disappearing form, their expressions revealing nothing of their thoughts. And when Ryu's car finally disappeared around the corner, they still continued to stare at the spot which he previously occupied.  
  
"Uo-chan, Hana-chan.." Tohru's voice pulled them out of their trance-like state.  
  
Arisa spoke first. "Ah! Gomen ne Tohru! I spaced out for a moment there."  
  
"Shall we go?" Hanajima followed. And with that, the three girls went off for their excursion.  
  
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"YOU WHAT?!!!" the shout cut through the silent air of the Sohma household. It was early in the evening, and they all had just finished eating their dinner when Tohru had popped the question.  
  
"calm down baka neko! You're frightening Honda-san" Yuki said in a slightly irritated voice.  
  
And it was true, though perhaps a bit exaggerated. Tohru wasn't exactly frightened, but more like surprised by the cat's outburst. And she of course didn't want to offend anybody.  
  
"But if Kyou-kun doesn't want me to go." She said a bit hesitantly, afraid to commit more errors.  
  
"Of course not Tohru-kun! This will be your first real date! You should go." Shigure said with his usual enthusiasm.  
  
Yuki just remained silent, though, when Tohru glanced at him, he gave her a gentle smile. Which, if one really looked at him hard enough, looked rather forced.  
  
Yuki didn't want Tohru to go on a date with Ryu as much as the neko did. But, he understood that they really couldn't impose their wills upon her. They had no right to forbid her to go.  
  
"So. its ok for me to go out tomorrow?" Tohru asked hopefully.  
  
"Of course! Tohru-kun's first date!!! I'm so excited. Our little flower is growing up!"  
  
"Yuki-kun. Kyou-kun." Tohru glanced at her two friends, hoping to get their consent as well. She valued their opinions greatly, and if they said no, even if Shigure-san had already given her the go-signal, she still wouldn't go.  
  
Kyou had sat down beside Yuki, and was now looking off to the side. He gave a tiny grunt, which Tohru interpreted as a yes. Sort of.  
  
"Of course. Whatever makes Honda-san happy, will make us happy." Yuki said quietly.  
  
Yuki's voice sounds strained. "Anou Yuki-kun, do you have a sore throat?" Tohru asked innocently.  
  
Yuki's eyes widened at that baffling comment. "no Honda-san. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, its just that Yuki-kun's voice sounds strained."  
  
"Ah, no Honda-san. Maybe its because I'm tired." He said wearily. "if you'll all excuse me, I'll go up to my room and rest" and with that statement, the mouse made a graceful exit. better retreat before she notices how much I hate letting her go on that date with Akamatsu.  
  
Kyou silently stood up after the mouse had disappeared, and just went outside to the roof without so much as an explanation.  
  
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"That boutique sure is nice!" Arisa exclaimed. "Though I couldn't pick out anything to buy. Just isn't my thing, you know."  
  
"But Tohru-kun has bought some very nice items." Hanajima said in her usual quiet voice, a tiny smile gracing her features.  
  
Tohru smiled at her two friends. They've been so kind in helping her pick out her outfit for her date today. Nothing expensive of course. And she didn't really plan on buying a new outfit for her date, but Hana-chan and Uo-chan had insisted, saying that this occasion was special, and it deserved at least a new outfit. They even offered in paying it for her, as a gift, but she couldn't let them do that. And after a few minutes of squabbling, they finally let Tohru have her way, which was to pay for the dress herself. And she was wearing it now. A simple lemon yellow off- shoulder blouse, and a pair of white pants. At first, she kept trying to pull the sleeves back to her shoulders, but the silky material just kept sliding off, and so after a few more fruitless attempts, she gave up and just left them as they were.  
  
"Now, shall we go meet lover-boy?" Arisa teased. This produced the expected blush from Tohru, to which Hanajima rebuked "stop teasing her Arisa." Already grinning unrepentantly, Arisa gave out a great laugh.  
  
They walked to the place, which was just a few blocks away from the boutique. And there, stood Ryu, who looked positively gorgeous. He looked the same as he does from school, but somehow different. It was as if there was an air about him.  
  
He smiled when he saw them approach, and his gaze lingered at Tohru. "You look beautiful Honda-san." He said smoothly.  
  
"Well, we'll just leave you two then." Arisa said, already starting to move away from them.  
  
"Bye Tohru-kun. Have fun ok?"  
  
"Bye Uo-chan, Hana-chan." And with a final wave, her two friends went off.  
  
"Shall we go inside Honda-san?" Ryu said, but was already taking her elbow and slowly guiding her towards the Akabeko.  
  
Tohru smiled and nodded.  
  
The restaurant's reputation didn't do honor to the real thing. The ambiance wasn't merely unique, as what people say, it was glorious. Various artifacts from all over the world were hung on the walls, or stood off at the corners. There were tribal masks from India, Africa and other such countries. But there were also elegant scrolls of calligraphy from China. European paintings hung about here and there, and there was even an armor near the front door. All these made a wonderful riot of clashing cultures.  
  
It took all of Tohru's will just not to gape and gawk at the wonderful façade.  
  
Ryu led them to a table in the corner, just near the Chinese artifacts. And immediately, a waiter appeared at their side and gave them each a copy of the menu. Ryu ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu, while Tohru ordered a dish of fettuccini.  
  
After a few moments, their orders arrived. And they proceeded with their lunch, while having a casual conversation.  
  
Unknown to them, a few eyes were watching their every move.  
  
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"Tell me what we're doing here again?" Hatsuharu whispered with resignation.  
  
"We're making sure that Too-ru is safe. We're protecting Too-ru!!!" Momiji exclaimed.  
  
"Quiet you damn bunny! They'll hear us!" Kyou whispered furiously.  
  
"We're here to make sure that Ryu doesn't try anything with Honda-san. We don't know him that well, we're just doing this for Honda-san's benefit." Yuki calmly said. To which Haru simply muttered something that went like "sure, we're doing this for Tohru's benefit and not because two or you are just jealous."  
  
Kyou whirled on him and said "What did you say you dumb cow?!!!" But Yuki shot him a glare, which said "do you want them to know that we're here!"  
  
Kyou simmered down, though still frowning.  
  
The four Juunishi males were currently hiding behind a bunch of plants near the kitchen door. The customers weren't allowed in this area since the kitchen was off limits. It was the perfect hiding place, and the waiters were already warned not to interfere with them or even show the slightest sign that they were there. It was to their good fortune that they discovered that the Akabeko was actually a restaurant owned by a subsidiary company under Sohma corporation owned by Momiji's father. And so they were free to do what they want.  
  
"They're just talking." Haru muttered. "can we just go? Its getting cramped in here."  
  
"No! look!!! He's making a move!" Kyou exclaimed, to which everyone prepared themselves to jump out and intervene. But it turned out that Ryu was merely leaning over to hand Tohru a napkin, since the girl had a spot of sauce on the corner of her mouth.  
  
This earned Kyou a glare from the other three males.  
  
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Totally unaware of their spectators, the two merely continued with their conversation after they finished their meal. Ryu, not wanting to end his time with his beloved angel just yet, decided to order some dessert, just to buy him some more time.  
  
"Honda-san, you seem a bit close with the Sohma's. any special reason for that? Yuki and Kyou aren't usually very open to females."  
  
Tohru's mind went blank. "Uh. You see. err.." eep! What am I going to tell him? That I live with Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun?! "err. well, maybe that's because every female they meet are interested in them in a romantic way. I just wanted to be friends with them." Tohru gave an inner sigh of relief on having thought of a believable reason.  
  
"You mean you're not interested in them in THAT way?" Ryu asked hopefully, his heart already thudding fast inside his chest at the possibility that the Sohma's might not be competition after all.  
  
"Of course not! We're just friends. That's all." Tohru said, looking away from the intensity of Ryu's gaze.  
  
"Honda-san, you don't know how happy that makes me." Ryu's hand was moving towards Tohru's cheek. The action caught Tohru's attention, which made her look at Ryu's face. Bad move. Ryu's look held her gaze, Tohru wanted to look away because this was too much for her, but somehow, she couldn't. Ryu's face loomed closer, ...  
  
Then suddenly.. *TWACK* Ryu jerked back, looking to the side, then gazing to the ground. He bent over and picked up something on the floor, looking at it in confusion.  
  
Tohru was relieved at having been released from that strange spell, but at the same time she was curious as to what had distracted Ryu. "Anou, Akamatsu-san."  
  
Ryu looked back at her, "Something hit me." He held out his palm towards the girl, and Tohru saw that there was a piece of olive there. "Eh?!" Tohru exclaimed, for lack of a better response.  
  
"I know. How could an olive be flying around here?" Ryu scanned the area, looking for a possible source of the flying vegetable (is olive a vegetable?). Having seen nothing, he just sat down and decided to shrug it off. "Must have flown out of somebody's plate, I guess." He said, although he looked as if he was trying to convince himself.  
  
Tohru just sat there, not knowing what to say, except she was thankful for whatever had caused the olive to hit Ryu. Who knows what would've happened if it didn't.  
  
************************************************************************ Four heads ducked back down before Ryu Akamatsu could spot them.  
  
"An OLIVE?!!!" Yuki whispered furiously, "Why did it have to be an olive?! It's the least plausible thing to go flying around!"  
  
"Well, it worked didn't it?! And besides, it was the only thing near me!!!! It was lying on the ground! Or did you want me to go inside the kitchen and find something else, and then come back finding out that its too late because that damn Akamatsu would have kissed her already?" Haru replied with as much intensity, close to turning into black mode.  
  
Yuki sighed and rubbed his temples. This was turning out to be disastrous. But the cow had a point, the olive-throwing trick worked, and Ryu didn't seem to suspect anything. And he really should thank the cow. After all, he did 'save' Honda-san from certain disaster. And he should do it fast, before the cow shifted into his "black" persona and revealed their position.  
  
"You're right. And that was quick thinking on your part." Yuki mumbled.  
  
Haru just smirked, completely placated at having been thanked by his "love".  
  
"Wai!!! Haru is a hero! He saved Too-ru from that guy's kiss of doom!" Momiji cried out. Though the last part of the sentence was a bit mumbled since Kyou had quickly covered the bunny's mouth with his hand before somebody heard them.  
  
"Quiet you!!" he whispered into Momiji's ear. "We should never have brought you along!"  
  
"but.. but." tears were already beginning to well up the bunny's eyes. But before it turned into a bout of tears, Yuki's statement distracted them.  
  
"Look! They're leaving! We'd better follow them!"  
  
All four scrambled to get up. But they were crouching so close to each other that they all crashed back down in a tangle of limbs. Fortunately, they didn't get up high enough that their fall was merely a few inches and didn't make much noise.  
  
"Get off me!" Kyou growled.  
  
"Tooru's getting away!" Momiji cried out. And all four resumed disentangling themselves from each other with renewed vigor.  
  
A few minutes and a lot of painful extractions later, they went outside and looked for Tohru.  
  
They saw her up ahead, talking to Ryu. Although the girl was too far away for them to hear what she was saying, what they saw was enough for them to guess what the conversation was about.  
  
Ryu was leading Tohru to his car!  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Honda-san, you have to let me take you home. I can't expect you to walk all the way there." Ryu said, very puzzled as to why Tohru wouldn't accept his offer of giving her a ride home.  
  
"But I can't Akamatsu-kun.." Tohru replied, her mind already thinking of a plausible answer.  
  
"Why not?" Ryu asked.  
  
"because. because..."  
  
"BECAUSE I'M HERE TO PICK HER UP!!!" a new voice piped up.  
  
Tohru whirled around at that very familiar, and oh so welcome, voice. And sure enough, she found the little bunny bouncing over her way.  
  
"Momiji-kun!" Tohru cried out in relief. And fortunately, she held her tongue back just in time before she could ask what the bunny was doing here.  
  
"Ne Too-ru, are you finished here? You promised to go with me to that bunny shop remember?" Momiji said, while pulling Tohru towards the car just behind him.  
  
"Ah, of course Momiji-kun. Akamatsu-san, I'm really sorry, but I promised him that I'll accompany him this afternoon." Tohru said, moving towards the car that Momiji had brought with him, waving to Ryu. "Thank you so much for lunch Akamatsu-san. I really had a great time." She gave the boy one final bow and got in the car.  
  
"It was my pleasure Honda-san." Ryu said, and he watched as the car sped away with his Tohru-chan.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
AN: well, how was it? I think it's a bit abrupt, but I couldn't think of any other way of writing it. Maybe my muse hasn't come back to me fully. Maybe she's only half here. Hmmm...  
  
Anyway, please forgive me if this chapter isn't so nice. Heh heh...  
  
Oh and by the way, I've added a gravitation section to my website. There are four gravitation wallpapers there!  
  
Thanks for reading my fic. I'll try to come up with the next chapter soon!  
  
Reviews please!  
  
Ja! -Mayorie- 


	9. GAAAH! its just a rant

Yatta!!! I finally uploaded the chapter! Gomen for the looong wait! But it seems like my muse has gone on a long vacation, and left me with nothing. And so poor me couldn't write though I tried and tried and tried!  
  
Well, if you visited my website you'd know this, but if not, I'll tell you here now. Hee hee  
  
my wallet got stolen! it has about $40 in it!!! i was planning to use that money to buy anime!!!! [pic]  
  
and the strangest thing about it is that it got stolen here at home! i left it in the room, my brother and my cousin saw it on the bed in the morning. they both left the house after lunch. i was in another room the whole day, with my friends. when i got back to my room, my wallet was gone! so the person who stole it must be somebody who's from inside the house!!!!  
  
we have a new maid, so maybe its her. i don't know what to do!!! i just can't go on blaming people!  
  
My youngest brother (i have 2 brothers) brought his classmates over to my room. it was the only room which was vacant at that time, so they had their group practice there. problem is, they're not really his friends. or more like, they're his NEW friends. but i can't believe that they were the ones who stole it either!  
  
*sighs* I'M SO CONFUSED!!!!!! Money is very important to me! i worship money, and this has to happen! DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was even planning to buy a new PDA, a sony clie! i've been saving for that. and now that my money for my anime is gone, i'm going to have to take out some of my savings for the clie and use it to pay for the anime! [pic]  
  
this just sucks!!!!  
  
Oh and by the way, why don't you try out this forum: http://mxnite.proboards6.com somebody invited me to it, and its great!  
  
It's a forum for anime and comic book lovers. I'm there everyday. You could talk to me there if you catch me online! Hope to see ya!  
  
_________________ 


	10. Chapter 9

EDITS - DAMN IT! messed up with the format. GOMEN-NE MINNA-SAN! they removed all the brackets (i have to write the word for it, since this damn thing won't show the symbols at all!!!)which indicates the character's thoughts. i had to replace it with "(( ))"... i just noticed it now, when i reread the story and realized how confusing it was!!!!!

* * *

A/N: OMG!!! I can't believe I finally updated this fic! It has been gathering digital dust inside my hard drive for about 4 years (last update, January 2003…. Eeep!)! LOL Mind you, I never really forgot about this fic, I just didn't know what to do with the story. I was literally on the longest SLUMP ever!!!! Heehee… 

Arigatou minna! I was urged on by the reviews that I got over the years LOOONG after I've stopped updating. It was touching, and so for months I've been racking my brains on how to continue the fic. And finally, the new chappie is here! Enjoy!

* * *

Note: "spoken words", ((thoughts))

Ryu awoke at the awful ringing in his ear ((What the…??!!!)). A glance to his side revealed the source of his annoyance—his alarm clock. ((Damn! I really should get a new one. This one is annoying the hell out of me)) and with a casual flick of his wrist, the said clock went flying to the trashcan just beside the huge mahogany desk in his room. This is clearly normal to him, disposing of things just for the heck of it, without a care for the cost. But then, why should he care? a simple alarm clock, no matter how expensive, was nothing to him. It would hardly put a dent in his father's extensive bank account.

Getting up, he stretched and got ready to take a long hot shower. School's about to start in an hour, and he just can't wait to see his angel.

After his shower, Ryu went down to their grand, but empty, dining hall. A hot serving of his breakfast was already waiting for him. Trained servants who were drilled to come and go with quick efficiency but with utmost silence were abundant in this household. The things money can buy…

Curious enough as to what their chef might have prepared for him this morning, Ryu took a quick look at the table, revealing a bowl of salad, a sandwich (which he didn't bother to take a closer look at), and a mug of hot chocolate, with marshmallows on top. Wrinkling his nose in distaste at what he considered to be a mediocre meal, and certainly not worthy of his appetite, he let it be and went on outside and drove off to school.

* * *

"Oi! Tohru, hurry up will you?!" Kyou yelled, while waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Yuki had already gone to school, something about an early meeting with the school council. Kyou didn't really listen; he could care less what that damn mouse was doing. So as of this morning, it was just going to be him and Tohru walking to school. Normally, this wouldn't be even an advantage to Kyou, having Tohru all to himself without his rivals to bother or distract the girl, since it isn't really within the nature of the orange haired cat to openly show affection. But after the events within the past weeks, Kyou was forced to reevaluate his tactics. 

"Gomen Kyou-kun! I was just getting my things ready. I had forgotten where I placed my homework" Tohru said, panting lightly after sprinting down the stairs this early in the morning. "Did Kyou-kun wait long for me? Gomen!" bowing her head again and again. "I'm just such a baka! forgetting where I placed my assignment and everything." Tohru was about to bow again when a warm hand to her forehead stopped the movement. "Its ok. You don't have to apologize that much. I didn't wait long" this was said so quietly, and in such a soft tone which is definitely uncharacteristic of our beloved cat, that for a moment, Tohru was caught off guard. The orange haired cat was staring off to the side, glaring at an invisible speck on the wall. But being the simple-minded person that she is, she just took it astride and beamed at the boy. "Arigatou Kyou-kun! Kyou-kun is so nice as to have waited for me."

"Hn." and with that he hurriedly walked out the door, leaving Tohru to happily follow him outside.

((Great Kyou! A mumble and then stalking out the door! What a great way to show that you care)) clearly the orange-haired boy was having an internal battle, but fortunately his companion was as oblivious as ever. This morning, Kyou had decided to push things to his advantage. Even if it might be out of character for him, he was determined to show Tohru that he cared. The events happening around him were enough to spur him into action, his eyes having been opened to the fact that his rivals for Tohru's affections were not merely limited to the males within the Sohma clan. The near misses they keep having with Akamatsu were proof of that.

Taking a deep breath and plunging straight in before he lost the courage, Kyou put his plan into action. Halting abruptly, he turned to a surprised Tohru. "Uh.. Let me carry your bag for you. It must be heavy" this was mumbled quickly, while staring at something past Tohru's shoulder. "Huh?" Tohru was in a daze, this never happened before. With a quick shake of her head, she replied "but its okay Kyou-kun. It really isn't heavy for me." her smile was met with a frown "I just want to carry it okay?!" Kyou barked out before he could stop himself. Old habits are hard to break, and this emotional thing was a bit new to him. Wincing at his lack of grace, he tried again "I mean, just let me do this okay? quit making a fuss about it." ((okay, that wasn't what I expected, but at least its better than my first attempt.))

Tohru was a bit startled at this new personality that her friend was displaying, but being the nice (and ditzy! lol) person that she is, she smiled and nodded and handed her bag to Kyou, and the two resumed their walk to school.

The quiet scenery provided a relaxing atmosphere for the two persons walking in amicable silence. And though nothing romantic or the like floated in the air, for the orange haired cat it was enough to just be able to spend time with the person he held most precious beyond all others, though he wasn't planning on telling her that anytime soon. At least not if he can help it.

* * *

Yuki tapped his pen absentmindedly on the table. Why he was being forced to endure this council meeting was beyond him. The things being discussed were trivial and petty. He could be out there with Honda-san right now, protecting her from whatever plans Akamatsu might have concocted. Knowing how trusting the girl can be, she just might fall for Akamatsu's trap. On second thought, Yuki was SURE Tohru would fall for it, which is all the more reason why he should be out there with her instead of being cooped up in here. But with a defeated sigh he knew that being a council member he was obligated to stay here. The urge to thump his head onto the desk in front of him was growing stronger and stronger by the minute. Sometimes he just wished he was like the cat who didn't have a single responsibility. But life isn't always what you wish it. With a groan, which fortunately wasn't noticed by the other council members, Yuki listened to the current speaker drone on.

* * *

The lunch bell rang, and the students hurriedly packed their things and checked if their lunches were still with them. Chatting with their friends and shouting meeting plans, students filed out of the classroom with their friends. 

"Oi! Tohru!!! Over here!" Arisa shouted. Standing just beside her was Hanajima, who was as stoic as ever.

Tohru jogged over to her friends, her constant smile plastered on her face. "Hana-chan, Uo-chan, have you seen Sohma-kun and Kyou-kun around?" She peered around her friends, trying to look for the two Sohma males.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, where are those two? They've always had lunch with you." Arisa said, looking pointedly at Tohru at the last part of her statement.

"I saw Kyou dash off outside with Yuki just as the lunch bell rang." Hanajima said in her quiet (and mysterious?) voice.

"Oh? how come I didn't notice them?" Arisa demanded. Tohru just looked on blankly at her two friends.

"They had strange denpas today. They seemed anxious for some reason." Hanajima replied, offering no further explanation to the two boys' suspicious behavior.

"Oh well, who needs them anyway." With a shrug Arisa walked towards the door, intent on heading outside. "Let's go Tohru. Oi, Hanajima, that includes you too."

Lunch proved uneventful that day. Well, actually the whole day was pretty much normal. After the lunch period was over, they saw Yuki and Kyou return to the classroom, and class resumed as usual.

Tohru didn't think anything of it, but Arisa and Hanajima found the boys' action somewhat abnormal. Where did they disappear to during the lunch period? What's with all the hush-hush and sneaky actions? But when their sensei started her lecture, they were forced out of their thoughts and had to listen to the day's lesson.

At the back of the class however, a totally different pot was brewing. Ryu Akamatsu, being just a breath away from his angel was having totally different, but just as suspicious, thoughts. ((Today my Tohru-chan, I'm going to find out where you live, and I'll allow no interferences this time.)) He stared at the way the wind teased his angel's hair, with wisps of her brown locks blowing this way and that. Oh how he longed to touch those silky strands and tuck them behind her ear. But he was in class and such actions were inappropriate. However, if his plans prove to be successful today, he would be one step closer to making Tohru his, and then touching those auburn locks won't be such an impossible dream then.

* * *

At the end of the day, as the final bell rang, students rushed out of the room. But few people were still left though, including Honda Tohru, who was still packing up her things. Arisa and Hanajima waited patiently for their friend to finish. Yuki and Kyou had already bidden her goodbye earlier, saying something about having to do some stuff. Arisa had raised her brow at that, while Hanajima whispered "Strange denpa". Of course, the whole interaction went unnoticed by Tohru. When Tohru finished, the trio went home, on their separate ways. 

"Tadaima!" Tohru called out when she reached the Sohma household. Taking off her shoes and changing into her slippers, she noticed that hers were the only pair of shoes there, which meant that she was the only one home. With a smile, she headed up to her room to leave her things. She still had a lot of chores to do, and it would be better to get them all done by the time the others arrived.

A few hours later, when the rooms have been cleaned, the furniture dusted, and the windows washed, a loud "Tadaima" echoed throughout the house.

"Okaeri Shigure-san." Tohru greeted back happily from her place in the kitchen, glad that somebody finally got home.

A black haired head popped through the open door. "Tohru-kun, what are you cooking?" a sniff "It smells good. Of course whatever Tohru-kun cooks is always delicious!" Shigure cried out in his singsong voice. Tohru giggled, used to this banter by now. "Arigatou Shigure-san. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Tohru-kun, where are my beloved cousins?" Shigure inquired, actually curious as to where the cat and the mouse could be. They were usually here by this time to protect their beloved Tohru from what they termed as 'Shigure's lechery'.

"Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun told me that they had to do some things after class and that I should head on home" Tohru replied, stirring the pot of miso soup that she was making.

"That means I have Tohru-kun all to myself!" he was just about to lunge a hug to 'his beloved flower' when the thought that it might be disastrous to do that, what with Tohru cooking and everything, popped into his head. "Uh.. just call me when dinner's ready Tohru-kun. I'll be in my study." and with that the dog disappeared from the kitchen.

Adding some cubes of tofu to the simmering soup, Tohru hummed a song while waiting for the dish to finish. Then there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it Shigure-san!" Tohru cried out while making the necessary adjustments to the stove to ensure that the soup won't get spoiled while she answered the door.

"Alright Tohru-kun. But I think its just Mit-chan" a giggly voice replied from the study. Obviously the author was having delighted thoughts on how to torture his editor some more.

The girl just shook her head at that. Sometimes the things Shigure did confused her. Every time his editor came by, she always seemed to be crying. Leaving her confused thoughts for another day, Tohru opened the door, and almost let out a scream in shock.

* * *

Standing in the doorway with a devilish grin on his handsome face was Ryu Akamatsu. He loved the surprised look on his Tohru-chan's face. Of course, he just assumed that the girl was much too delighted to see him and thus the certain shocked look. 

"So, this is where Honda-san lives. Finally, I tracked you down." He said casually, as if standing here was the most normal thing in the world.

Tohru's mind was going on overload. This was just too much, and her poor brain couldn't handle the shock. ((Akamatsu-san is here! What am I going to do? If he finds out that I'm living with Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun, I don't know how he'll react!!!))

"Uh… Akamatsu-san, how .. how.. how did you find me?" the poor girl stuttered, at a loss for what else to say.

"Well, I passed by and saw Honda-san walking down the road. So I got curious enough to follow you here" he said nonchalantly. But in reality, he really stalked (or in his own term "followed") Tohru from school. Many times he was tempted to come out and ask his angel to just let him give her a ride home, but he wanted to make sure that he got her address this time since every time he tries to take her home she always seemed to get panicky. ((my Tohru-chan is just too shy for her own good!)) he thought, thinking that embarrassment was the cause of the girl's panicked actions every time he offered to take her home.

"Oh.. I see." Tohru stammered. ((What now?!)) she looked around, as if hoping to find the solution to her problem.

"Tohru-kun! Who was at the door? Was it Mit-chan?" a voice cried out. And then the person to whom the voice belonged to appeared beside the girl, who stood rooted on the spot. Upon seeing the unknown male standing on his doorstep, Shigure immediately inquired "Oh, and who's this Tohru-kun?" Looking at their 'visitor' from head to foot, Shigure turned to Tohru "oh my! is this your boyfriend Tohru-kun? Has be come to take our beloved flower away?!" Shigure dramatically placed the back of his hand to his forehead as if he was about to swoon any minute.

"Iya Shigure-san! This is Akamatsu Ryu-san, my classmate. He was just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by" Tohru cried out, totally falling for the author's theatrics.

Shigure's eyebrows shot up ((Ryu Akamatsu?! he's the guy who's making the moves on Tohru. Hmm… This is getting interesting. Too bad Yuki and Kyou aren't here, if they were, all hell would break lose. But we can't let him know that Tohru is living with us..))

While Shigure was still thinking, Ryu stared at the crazy man standing before him. ((Who the hell is this guy?! Is he Tohru's older brother? He's insane!)) Since nobody seemed to be doing anything and he wasn't getting anywhere, he decided to break the odd mood that has fallen over the group. "Uh.. Honda-san, aren't you going to let me in?" he asked politely. He decided to keep his 'rascal persona' to himself until he finds out who this guy is. If he's a relative of Tohru, it would be best if he appeared to be the most polite of persons.

"Uh of course! Gomen Akamatsu-san!!! Come right in" when Akamatsu had suddenly spoken up, Tohru visibly jumped out in surprise. The poor girl was really at a loss, it was a good thing that the two Sohma boys haven't gotten home yet. She went inside and the two males followed suit.

"Why don't you have a seat Akamatsu-kun" Shigure gestured to the sofa, immediately sitting down at the chair just opposite it. Tohru bustled to the kitchen to get the cake that was just in the fridge and some tea for their guest.

While Tohru was out of earshot, the two persons left in the living room had gone into a staring contest of sorts. While laying back in his chair, assuming a somewhat lazy position, the author stared the boy opposite him, with such intensity that Ryu felt like a fly being scrutinized under a microscope. He was beginning to fidget, and believe me, he isn't used to fidgeting! When he couldn't take any of the staring, he decided to break the silence and speak up "Uh so, Shigure-san was it? How are you related to Honda-san? Are you her uncle?" Ryu asked, thinking that Shigure looked too young to be Tohru's dad, and they looked too different for him to be her older brother.

The sudden question startled the author (and he was kind of enjoying making the boy squirm), but right now a more immediate problem has arisen. ((What should I tell him… I couldn't very well admit the fact that Tohru-kun is living with us)) Shigure thought the matter over, though he was far from panicky. He was having too much fun to be having panic attacks, plus the author in him reveled at the raw material just waiting for him to weave it into a dramatic plot! Thinking to stall for time, he decided to play with the boy a bit. "I'm her danna (patron)" (1) he said casually, and inside laughing hysterically at the boy's reaction. Ryu looked like his eyeballs were going to pop out of their sockets and his eyebrows actually shot to his hairline. Shigure let out a laugh, then said "no, no. She's my…. Apprentice."

He grinned as he witnessed a flurry of emotions cross Ryu's face. From shock, to relief, then to puzzlement.

"Apprentice?" Ryu asked, not quite sure what the author meant. "Excuse me for asking Shigure-san, but an apprentice to what?"

"Didn't Tohru tell you? Oh my! I'm hurt!" Shigure dramatically placed a hand to his forehead "I'm surprised that she didn't even mention me! Why a man of my talent should be proclaimed throughout the world!!!! I'm an author!" he sighed and placed a hand to his heart, "to think that Tohru-kun hasn't even boasted of being my apprentice." Then, in a completely astounding switch of emotions, he turned puppy-dog-eyes to the young man in front of him, and wheedled "she didn't even mention me a single bit? Not even in reference?"

The huge, watery eyes in front of him, which should have made him sympathetic had it been on the face of a much, much younger person instead of the grown man in front of him, just freaked him out. ((this guy is freakin' weird! He must be insane!)) "uh… Honda-san never even told me that she was interested in literature. But … uh…" floundering for something to placate the man-child in front of him, Ryu was breaking out in sweats "but if she had, I'm sure she would have mentioned you Shigure-sensei! (2)" Having said this, Ryu almost heaved a sigh of relief.

Shigure was having a ball now. ((He should have come over sooner! If I knew it was going to be THIS fun I would have invited him over a long time ago!)). Feigning at being placated, he nodded benevolently, "Yes, yes. That must be it. Tohru-kun would never intentionally injure my feelings! She is such a kind, kind girl."

Ryu was given a moment's reprieve, for just then Tohru arrived, carrying a tray with two cups and a teapot. She placed the cups in front of Ryu and Shigure, and poured them some tea. Both males murmured quiet thanks and got a cup of tea each. Tohru then left the teapot in the middle, hastily getting up, "Gomen, I'll be back in a minute, I'll just get the cake" she explained, hurriedly making her way back to the kitchen.

When his little flower was gone, Shigure quickly warmed up to his new torture subject once more (Mit-chan was fun to torture and everything, but new victims were always more fun), Shigure continued his torment from where he left off, turning his most "hopeful" stare to the boy "How about you Akamatsu-kun, surely you've heard of my work? Maybe perhaps you're a fan?"

If Ryu could squirm, he would. He has never heard of this author before, much less read of his works. But he didn't want to show any signs of weakness at his beloved angel's mentor. After all, he needs to impress this person who seems to have a lot of influence over his Tohru-chan. ((Damn it! What was his name again??? Shigure….. Shigure what?!)) "Uh, gomen nasai Shigure-sensei. But you haven't told me your last name yet. I think I've read some of your work, but without knowing your last name, I can't be too sure." Inside, Ryu gave a sigh of relief. ((Good work Akamatsu!)) He gave himself a mental pat in the back, and took a sip of his tea.

"Oh, forgive me, its Soh-……" he caught himself just in time before he could blurt out his last name. Now it was Shigure's turn to get flustered (Shigure's too much of a maniac to actually panic), he couldn't very well tell the boy that his last name's Sohma, although the thought of the chaos that would ensue if he did seemed pretty delightful to him at the moment. ((Nah, we can't have that! Yuki and Kyou, not to mention Ha-san, would have my head if I did that)). He racked his brains for something, anything. Unfortunately, answers seem to elude even the best of us when we're in a state of unease, and the author isn't an exception to this. He caught something from the corner of his eye, the bowl of noodles that he had for lunch…

"Its Soba! Shigure Soba…!" he almost choked on that right after he blurted it out. ((Soba?! sigh oh well, at least its better than nothing.))

Ryu looked like he was drowning in his tea. He was sputtering and gasping for air, grasping his throat with one hand, while hastily putting his cup back on the table with the other with no small amount of difficulty.

"Akamatsu-kun, are you alright?" Shigure's sugary voice was laced with '_concern'_, although inside the author was a bit miffed. ((It wasn't really that bad, was it?)) then, glancing at his victim, his eyes lit up with glee, and he had to keep himself from laughing outright.

Ryu looked like a hooked fish, with his mouth gaping open while his eyes had taken on a wide-eyed blank look, not to mention that he was still a bit red from having his oxygen cut off a moment ago. ((Shigure Soba?! Who the hell would name their son that?!! Much less publish their work under that name!!! I've never seen a book by an author named Soba, and even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't buy it! Damn, but what do I tell him?!)) Clearing his throat, Ryu did his best to wiggle himself out of the hole that he had apparently dug himself into. "Uh, gomen-nasai Shigure-sensei, I'm so embarrassed to admit that I've never read of your work," he racked his brains some more "although I recall seeing some of them in my father's personal library, among the other authors of your caliber that he holds in high esteem. I'll be sure to rectify my mistake post-haste and read some of them when I get home." Ryu heaved an inner sigh of relief at having quickly bought himself some time. He'll just have to get his servants to find him a copy of the lunatic's works.

Shigure cocked an eyebrow at that. ((Eh.. the boy's good. No wonder he constantly gets our gentle flower flustered, with that silver tongue of his, it would take a girl with much more experience than our beloved Tohru-kun to be able to withstand this smooth talker)) Turning back to his usual giddy persona, the dog gave a delighted squeal "I'm so glad to hear that Akamatsu-kun! I can't wait to hear all your comments the next time you come here!" Inside, the author was laughing his head off. The boy would be hard pressed to find any work of one 'Shigure Soba' no matter how hard he tried, considering that said author was nonexistent.

Ryu smiled weakly. But just then, Tohru came back with the cakes, saving her admirer from certain death by one sly author who was currently enjoying his victim's plight way too much for it to be considered sane.

Turning to his beloved angel in relief, Ryu inquired "so is this where Honda-san lives?"

While Tohru was reaching near anxiety searching for a safe answer to that, Shigure smoothly stepped in "No, this is my house. Tohru-kun here lives with her grandfather, but since I'm currently on the brink of finishing my next work, I need all the help I can get, so I've asked her to stay here with me for the time being." Shigure was in his element, cooking up stories and stirring up the 'drama' as he likes to call it.

Ryu gaped at that, "live with you? Uh… alone?" he was almost afraid to hear the insane man's reply. "Oh no no! My assistant is here too, but she's currently doing some errands for me." Then he couldn't help adding "Tohru-kun here takes care of me while Mit-chan is away. She's so sweet isn't she? My little flower!" the dog replied in his singsong voice.

The boy winced at the last statement, but still he was greatly relieved that apparently his beloved angel wasn't duped into living in a state of impropriety by this childlike madman in front of them.

Meanwhile, Tohru was willing to hand the reins to Shigure, ((Shigure-san is so great. He's so smart to be able to think up of all these things at a moment's notice. I really have a lot to thank them for, and yet here I am giving them more trouble)) she cast her eyes down and gave a little sigh.

This didn't go unnoticed by her ardent admirer, he always takes note of anything that his Tohru-chan does. "Are you alright Honda-san?" he asked.

Apparently, the action didn't miss the shrewd pervert's eyes either. Quickly grabbing the opportunity that the girl unwittingly provided him, the author immediately exclaimed "Oh no! it seems my beloved flower has gotten tired! I have been having her run a lot of errands lately, and she had to prepare everything for us when you arrived" the author knew he hit a nerve there, which was proven a moment later when the boy immediately launched into a string of profuse apologies. "Gomen-nasai Honda-san! I didn't know that you were in the midst of your apprenticeship. I didn't mean to trouble you with my presence."

"Oh no Akamatsu-san! It was no trouble at all, I wasn't really bothered" As much as the situation stressed the girl out, it distressed her to see people worrying over her. It was just in her nature.

"No Honda-san, I shall take my leave now. Perhaps I will come at another time when you aren't so busy. I shouldn't have barged in on you like this without prior notice." With this, he stood up and faced Tohru's 'mentor' "Shigure-sensei, I must take my leave. Thank you for your hospitality."

Shigure chuckled to himself, he really wanted the boy to stay. It was too much fun baiting him and seeing him squirm, and he really couldn't wait to see what would happen when Yuki and Kyou arrived from school. But it can't be helped, as much fun as the idea might be, he knew that those two would never forgive him. Not to mention what Ha-san might do to him when he finds out. ((sigh those two don't know how much I'm giving up for them. I'm just too generous!)).

"It was my pleasure Akamatsu-kun. I'm always glad to meet Tohru-kun's friends. After all, any little tidbit about my little flower is always worth knowing!" He couldn't resist adding this last bit, knowing how much it'll rile the boy.

Ryu flushed at hearing his beloved angel being called 'little flower' by that lecherous old man. But he really couldn't do anything about it.

"Tohru-kun, why don't you see our guest to the door. I need to finish up some things in my study."

"Hai Shigure-san" with that, Tohru walked Ryu out the door and bid him goodbye. As she watched his car speed away, she gave a sigh of relief and slumped into the wall. ((Thank goodness Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun haven't come home yet!))

Another day, Another disaster avoided…

* * *

(1): when Shigure told Ryu that he was Tohru's "Danna" (patron) he was implying that Tohru was his 'mistress'…. Hence Ryu's shocked reaction. For those of you who've read memoirs of a geisha you might have noticed that geishas call the clients who've purchased exclusive rights to their services as "danna". It was in this context that Shigure was using the word when he mentioned it to Ryu. 

(2): when Akamatsu found out that Shigure's an author, he changed the honorific to "sensei" which is more appropriate for an author.

A/N: was it alright? The ending was a bit abrupt, I think. I haven't watched furuba for so long, and I haven't read any furuba fics for so long that I don't know if I quite got into the mindset of the characters. sigh my furuba is a bit rusty. So if the characters are a bit OOC in this chapter, I humbly apologize…I'll try my best to get into furuba mode once again.

But still, I need all the help I can get on this fic. So minna-san, if you have any ideas or suggestions for this fic (most especially its plot), it would be more than welcome!

Also, if you have any constructive criticism for this fic, please feel free to post them or send them to me.

Jan e!

Mayorie '


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